FRANCE: President Nicolas Sarkozy calls the recent death of western journalists in Syria a 'murder' and says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must leave

Record ID: 280306

  • Title: FRANCE: President Nicolas Sarkozy calls the recent death of western journalists in Syria a 'murder' and says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must leave
  • Date: 28th February 2012
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (FEBRUARY 27, 2012) (REUTERS) PARIS SKYLINE WITH EIFFEL TOWER
  • Embargoed: 14th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France, France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAGPVKFXO59CN10SBFFO33DS61
  • Story Text: French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday (February 27) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad needed to step down and that the Syrian government would be held accountable for the safety of its citizens after a French journalist was among the more than 80 people killed in Homs last week.
    "What is happening in Syria is shocking. First I want to say that Remi Ochlik and Marie Colvin were murdered. It's a strong word: they were murdered. When you have the Syrian army fire several mortar rounds on a building that they know perfectly well is a press centre you can call it collateral damage, you call it murder. Those who murder will be accountable for it," Sarkozy told RTL radio on Monday.
    News photographer Remi Ochlik and American correspondent Marie Colvin were among those killed last week in the besieged Syrian city as Assad's forces rained rockets and bombs down on opposition-led neighbourhoods.
    "Globalisation has many defects and creates many sufferings but there is some advantage too: today a dictator cannot murder in his country with impunity as we have seen during the 20th century, with total impunity, there is no secret. Bashar al-Assad's regime, Bashar al-Assad must leave, he is disqualified," Sarkozy added.
    Syrian artillery pummelled rebel-held areas of Homs on Monday before an expected government announcement that a vote - decried as a sham by the opposition and the West - has approved a new constitution proposed by President al-Assad.
    Shells and rockets crashed into Sunni Muslim districts of Homs that have already endured weeks of bombardment as Assad's forces, led by officers from his minority Alawite sect, try to stamp out an almost year-long revolt against his 11-year rule.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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