French cameraman becomes 1st Western journalist killed in Syria uprising
A French cameraman was killed Wednesday in Syria during a government-authorized trip to the restive city of Homs, the first Western journalist to be slain since the country’s uprising began 10 months ago, officials said.
The killing of Gilles Jacquier, 43, who worked for France-2 Television, was likely to become a rallying cry for both sides of the conflict, as President Bashar Assad’s regime and the opposition blame each other for a recent spate of mysterious attacks.
According to a reporter who was on the media trip, the group was hit by several grenades. As many as six Syrian civilians also were killed, but the figure could not be confirmed, activists said.
“France-2 Television has just learned with great pain about the death of reporter Gilles Jacquier in Homs, Syria, in circumstances that must still be clarified,” the network said.
A Dutch freelance journalist also was wounded in Homs, a Dutch Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said. She said the man was treated in a local hospital and released.
The circumstances of Wednesday’s violence were unclear, but reporter Jens Franssen said he was among about 15 journalists who were taken on a tour of the city. “At some point, three or four (grenade) shells hit, very close to us,” he told the Belgian VRT network.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Jacquier had been killed “in an attack” in Homs.