French journalist killed in Syria

A French journalist was among several people killed in Syria's central city of Homs today, becoming the first Western reporter…

A French journalist was among several people killed in Syria's central city of Homs today, becoming the first Western reporter to have died in 10 months of unrest in the country.

France 2 television confirmed one of its journalists had been killed. Syria's Addounia TV, which gave a total death toll of eight, said a Dutch journalist was among 25 people wounded.

"France 2 television has just learned with a great deal of sorrow the death of reporter Gilles Jacquier in Homs," France 2 said in a statement, adding it did not have details of the circumstances of his death.

Mr Jacquier, who had previously reported from Iraq and Afghanistan, had been invited to Syria by the government, the television station said.

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Syria barred most foreign media from the country soon after demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad's rule began in March, but more journalists have been admitted since the Arab League sent a monitoring mission to check if the authorities were complying with an Arab plan to halt the bloodshed.

A witness in Homs, who asked not to be named, said the casualties were caused by rocket-propelled grenades fired during a pro-Assad rally. He said he had seen three bodies.

Rami Abdulrahman, of the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Britain, quoted activists in Homs as saying the journalists had been near the Akrama neighbourhood of Homs at the time.

Gilles Jacquier was just doing his journalist job by covering the violent events in Syria as a result of the unacceptable repression of the regime against the population," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe condemned the attack and demanded the authorities carry out an immediate investigation.

"It is up to the Syrian authorities to ensure the safety of international journalists on its territory and to protect the fundamental freedom which is freedom of the press," Juppe said in a statement. He said Paris' ambassador had been sent to Homs.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said this evening that an Arab League monitoring mission in Syria cannot continue indefinitely and dismissed a recent speech by Syria's president as "chillingly cynical."

"Instead of taking responsibility, what we hear from Bashar al- Assad in his chillingly cynical speech was only making excuses, blaming foreign countries, conspiracies," Ms Clinton said during a news conference with Qatar's prime minister.

The US also said it had further reduced the number of staff at its embassy in Damascus because of security concerns.

Meanwhile, an Arab League observer has left Syria, saying he had witnessed "scenes of horror" that he was powerless to prevent and that the Arab monitoring team sent to the country was not acting independently.

"I withdrew because I found myself serving the (Syrian) regime," Anwar Malek told Al Jazeera television, still wearing the orange vest used by the Arab monitors.

"How was I serving the regime? I was giving the regime a greater chance to continue its killing and I could not prevent that," the Algerian said in an interview at Al Jazeera's headquarters in Qatar.

The Arab League monitoring mission, now about 165 strong, began work on December 26th. Its task is to verify if Syria is complying with an agreement to halt a crackdown on 10 months of protests against president Bashar al-Assad in which the United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been killed.

Asked why he had quit, Mr Malek said: "The most important thing is to have human feelings of humanity. I spent more than 15 days in Homs... I saw scenes of horror, burnt bodies... I cannot leave behind my humanity in this sort of situation."

Mr Malek criticised the leader of the Arab League mission, Sudanese general Mohammed al-Dabi, whose suitability for the role had been questioned by human rights groups concerned about his past role in the conflict in Darfur.

"The head of the mission wanted to steer a middle course in order not to anger the (Syrian) authorities or any other side," said Mr Malek, who had already drawn attention for critical comments he posted on Facebook while still in Syria.

A second Arab monitor said this evening he might also quit the fraying team of observers in Syria because the mission was proving ineffectual in ending civilians' suffering there, exposing rifts in an Arab peace effort.

Another resignation would further undermine its credibility.

Asked if he agreed with Malek's characterisation of the mission as a failure, the monitor said: "It is true, it is true. Even I am trying to leave on Friday. I'm going to Cairo or elsewhere... because the mission is unclear.... It does not serve the citizens. It does not serve anything."

"The Syrian authorities have exploited the weakness in the performance of the delegation to not respond. There is no real response on the ground."

The monitor, speaking by telephone from Syria, asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

"The military gear is still present even in the mosques. We asked that military equipment be withdrawn from the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq mosque in Deraa and until today they have not withdrawn."

A UN official told the Security Council yesterday that Syria had accelerated its killing of protesters after the Arab monitors arrived, the US envoy to the United Nations said.

"The under-secretary-general noted that in the days since the Arab League monitoring mission has been on the ground, an estimated 400 additional people have been killed, an average of 40 a day, a rate much higher than was the case before their deployment," ambassador Susan Rice told reporters in New York.

Ms Rice was speaking after Lynn Pascoe, UN under-secretary-general for political affairs, briefed the 15-nation Security Council behind closed doors on Syria and other major crises.

Ms Rice said the figure did not include 26 people the authorities said were killed by a suicide bomber in Damascus last week.

Syria says it is facing a wave of "terrorism" by Islamists armed and manipulated from abroad who have killed 2,000 members of the security forces. Dr Assad said in a speech on Tuesday that his country was the target of a foreign conspiracy.

Reuters