SYRIA: Footage obtained shows French photographer Remi Ochlik before fatal attack in Homs

Record ID: 280293

  • Title: SYRIA: Footage obtained shows French photographer Remi Ochlik before fatal attack in Homs
  • Date: 25th February 2012
  • Summary: HOMS, SYRIA (FEBRUARY 22, 2012) (AMATEUR VIDEO OBTAINED BY REUTERS) SYRIAN FREE ARMY FIGHTERS ON THE STREET AT DAWN PHOTOGRAPHER REMI OCHLIK WALKING AND JOKING INSIDE A ROOM WITH SYRIAN FREE ARMY FIGHTERS SYRIAN FREE ARMY FIGHTER SPEAKING IN ARABIC, TALKING ABOUT BELIEVING IN VICTORY AND IN GOD FIGHTERS SHOUTING 'GOD IS GREAT' IN ARABIC (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNNAMED SY
  • Embargoed: 11th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Syrian Arab Republic
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2G3MF8IR7GREC5HB7EJ13E71X
  • Story Text: New footage obtained by Reuters showed French photographer Remi Ochlik laughing and sitting with a group of Syrian Free Army fighters before falling victim to a shelling attack in Homs.
    The video was shot on Wednesday (February 22), the day when a building in the Baba Amro district was shelled, resulting in death of Ochlik and the Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin.
    The Syrian Free Army fighter who helped wrap the journalists' bodies in shroud and store them safely said he did so under constant shelling by the Syrian Army.
    "We were wrapping them in shrouds, but we were under surveillance. We were shelled four times before we were even done. Everywhere we went we got shelled. In the end we managed to wrap them in shroud and keep them in a safe location until we can hand them over to their country and families."
    The footage which appeared to have been shot by Syrian rebels also showed photographer Paul Conroy - Colvin's colleague at the Sunday Times - moment after the fatal attack took place.
    "When the shelling started, I don't really remember much after that. We had a couple of close hits, and we then took a direct hit somewhere. I was injured in the leg. I think my colleague Marie Colvin is dead, and Remi also is dead, as far as I know. I don't know much at the moment. That's all I can remember," said Conroy, as he was being treated by a doctor for his wound.
    When asked if the Syrian Army had deliberately targeted the journalists, Conroy said he was doubtful.
    "No, I think they'd been hitting civilians. We were just part of the bigger picture. They have been targeting civilians for 18-20 days. We were unlucky," he said.
    American journalist Colvin and Ochlik were among 80 people killed in bombardments that day.
    A day after the attack, wounded foreign journalists trapped inside a besieged rebel-held neighbourhood in Syria appealed for a ceasefire, so they could be evacuated and receive proper medical care.
    French journalist Edith Bouvier and Conroy made their plea by video as the sound of rocket fire echoed in the background on Thursday (February 23).
    They were two of six Western journalists who came under fire on Wednesday when Syrian forces attacked the building where they were hiding in Baba Amro, an opposition stronghold in the central city of Homs.
  • Copyright Holder: AMATEUR VIDEO (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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