French Journalist among 7 Dead as Rocket Hits Reporters in Homs
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربيةA French journalist was killed on Wednesday in the flashpoint central Syrian city of Homs, the first Western journalist to be killed since protests erupted in March.
The public France 2 channel identified the slain journalist as Gilles Jacquier, one of its reporters. The 43-year-old joined public television in 1991 and was an award-winning veteran who had covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Israel.
A number of other reporters were also wounded when a rocket exploded as they were on a government-organized trip, activists said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "rockets hit between the quarters of Akrama and al-Nuzha where there was a group of journalists. A Western journalist was killed, as well as six Syrians, and there were also wounded."
Militants in Homs blamed the authorities for the incident. The Observatory did not lay any blame.
An AFP photographer said one of those hurt was a Belgian, who was hit in the eye.
Jens Franssen, a reporter with Belgium's VRT television, said around 15 journalists on the visit were in Homs, when "three or four grenades exploded near us. A French colleague probably did not survive."
Meanwhile, the pro-regime Dunia TV said "eight people, including a Belgian journalist, were killed and 25 other people were hurt in an attack in Homs."
Later on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe demanded a probe into the death of the French television journalist.
"We vigorously condemn this odious act," he said in a statement that also called for the circumstances of the death to be clarified and for Syrian authorities to protect foreign journalists.
He said the French ambassador in Damascus would travel "immediately" to the scene in Homs and asked the Syrian authorities to assist the other people who were accompanying the reporter when he died.
"We demand that an investigation be conducted in order to shed light on the circumstances of this incident," Juppe added.
Global press watchdog Reporters Without Borders also demanded an inquiry, and called on the Arab League observers deployed to monitor the Syrian conflict to play a role.
"Gilles Jacquier is the first foreign journalist killed in Syria since the start of the uprising, March 15, 2011. All our thoughts are with his family and colleagues," the group said.
Bertrand Coq, a journalist with whom Jacquier in 2003 jointly won France's top journalism prize, the Prix Albert Londres, paid tribute to his late colleague.
"Gilles was an excellent war reporter," he said, noting that Jacquier took a bullet in the shoulder while on an assignment in the West Bank in 2003.
The executive editor of Jacquier's television station, Thierry Thuillier, said he was "one of the best reporters in France 2, an exceptional man."
"We are all in shock. We are going to miss him a lot," he said.
The station said he had been authorized by the Syrian authorities to work in Homs and had a valid visa that allowed him to report from the country.
"They were not working undercover," it said in a statement.
Homs is one of the major hot spots of the 10-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
The United Nations estimated last month that more than 5,000 people had been killed in the crackdown on anti-regime protests, and many of them have been gunned down during street protests.
And who does not like foreign reporters covering Syrian uprising???
Guess whos done it?
This is a major nail in Bashar's coffin!
soon will get rid of this monster killer
but i guess now they are getting some taste of their own meds
same shit they did to lebanon now its happening to them
im so glad
according to the mou3arada el sourieh the regime orchestrated the bombings in damascus and today in homs
if so the regime in few month will kill all his supporters so no need for foreign intervention just give time to the regime and he will finish himself up
the filthy zionist information war department with their partners in crime in syria disguisded as rebels are killing journalists now becuase they have pens and papers and can write about their criminal acts. These cheap attempts will only make the great bashar stronger and stronger by the day. Today he said he will hit these barbarians with a fist of iron and steel.
The people posting under the "jabal amel" nickname are mukhabarat agents.... They should be banned from this site. It was "le phenicien" earlier, now that nick disappeared and we get this drivel about zionists and the "great" Bashar. Please do not respond as they are trolls, with posts aimed at increasing sectarian tensions in Lebanon. Be wise, ignore them and unite as Lebanese.
according to the mou3arada el sourieh, the fukushima disaster and the haiti quake were orchestrated by the syrian regime. very credible source you're citing... bravo!
a reporter got killed during rocket fire... BIG DEAL (: he knows what he was going for and he died for 'the scoop'.... i hate to disappoint the rodent who thinks a no fly zone will be ordered by france just because the reporter who died happens to be french
a clear warning to anyone who want to report on the truth... they were authorized to go there by the regime and hop! a shell falls on them... strange isn t it?! a perfect play by the regime to accuse the opposition...
if there was a true foreign conspiracy against the regime why is that that there are NEVER pro assad demonstrators killed???? only those against him?
the regime is clearly desperate and is starting to do anything to keep the power...
A rocket that large aimed at western journalists can only be sent by Bahshar.
He is finished. Hopefully there was a Russian reporter there to send info back to Putin who did it.
killed by anti-bashar 'peaceful and freedom loving' protesters:
http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2012/01/11/01003-20120111ARTFIG00506-gilles-jacquier-un-journaliste-present-a-homs-temoigne.php
hurry and save it before the article disappears.
just for peace who keeps spilling lies left and right, a piece of the article i'm gonna paste here just in case it refuses to check it:
Quelques instants plus tard, devant l'hôpital de Zahira, un attroupement s'est formé de militants pro-Assad qui ont commencé à scander des slogans favorables au régime. Soudain, une roquette RPG a frappé la foule. Huit activistes pro-Bachar ont été tués sur le coup, il y a eu des blessés également.
what does that mean martadella??? so what if they were pro assad?? do you think he gives a shit? he is killing both sides to prove his point... just like his evil father god curse his soul did in lebanon to start the war... khallosna min bahltak
this was just to prove my point that the likes of you, aragon, will not believe anything other than what's been downloaded into their brains. you're prepared to fork out the most delusional theories (like the one above) to support your failing points. 'human' nature like yours and your friends is what keeps me coming to naharnet. i'm fascinated by your idiocy every time, more than before. keep outdoing yourself (:
the filthy zionist information war department first tried to say that syrian army killed journalist.
when they were faced with french article that says terrorists killed them, than they say "who cares".
just wait and see mortadella... just wait and see who are the liars...
what is hapening now is the same scenario that happened in many dictatorships on the verge of falling... they do not hesitate to kill even their supporters to throw the blame on others.
the bombings in damascus has been already been talked about by some experts as a natural course of the revolution many months ago! they said that the day the regime will feel that everything is escaping them they wouldn t hesitate to do such atrocities to try and convince that without them only chaos is coming...and i bet you it isn t finish and you ll see even worse from the regime.
oh! and remember the thousands of supporters of khaddafi demonstrating in his favor? just like in syria now...
acceleration of tragic events these coming 2/3 weeks in syria, but no worry for lebanon
Enno inta khayi zaki, bass moch 3am befham shou matlabak? insa shou l siyesiyin 3am bi 2oulou, 2ensa l comments w 7alil lawa7dak.enno shou hadaff men te3li2atak ? ennak defi3 3an l dictateriyi? Enno inta bte2bal dictateur ye7kmak ?
Yalli bi 7ett 3elto kella bel 7ekem shou bi koun? Yalli byemna3 l 2a7zab w byefrod 7ezeb wa7ad shou bikoun? Yalli byemna3 l 7oriyet shou bikoun? Yalli byeghtel ness w siyesiyin shou bikoun? Yalli bye7boss mo3aridin 2ello shou bikoun? Yalli b3emro ma darab 7ajar 3a Isra2il w bi2oul 2enno houwi l mokawami shou bikoun? Yalli attal shabebna w shabeb watano shou bikoun? Yalli 3emil majezir bi lebnen w bi souriya shou bikoun? Yalli mjawa3 sha3bo shou bikoun?
Please ya sa7bi, bass lal 2enseniyi, 7kom ka 2ensen!!!!!!
khayye perestroika: insa el siyesiyyin wel comments.
you talk about dictatorships: at least syria has a governing system very similar to lebanon. KSA however, is an example of ruling families for much more than assad or kaddafi. yet i dont hear their M14 and US allies complaining about how women lack any freedom there. they are focused on syria. i call this pure spite.
too many political parties rob a country of any direction. look at us and see for yourself.
assassinations happen everywhere. JFK, the iranian scientists, the mab7ou7 guy in dubai, rachid karami, rené moawad, bachir gemayel, moussa al sadr... big deal
as for ma darab 7ajar 3a israel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Mount_Hermon
w sorry i havent seen him starving his people on the contrary, he has a very strong agriculture and industry UNLIKE LEBANON.
so plz, forget media brainwashing and use your common sense.
peace, and you gobble everything the 'experts' tell you as long as it fits in you fluffy pink bubble of pleasant illusions?
mortadella, yes keep on in your world of lies , dream of this democratic syrian regime , you must be proud of it, so keep supporting it it will be all the more fun when they will disappear and see you crying here!
oh, but i guess you won t assume the day the regime falls and we ll never hear from you again on this site!
oh and you keep refering to the 1973 war but since then? they never threw a single stone on israel as hafez made a deal to stay in place in exchange of peace in the golan heights...your regime is in place by the will of the usa and israel
very resistant country indeed....
"governing system" inta 3am teda7ak 3layi 3anjad!!! no comment.
" you haven't seen him starving his population" kamen no comment.
ana moch 3am 2arin heda l nizam l fesed ma3 aya nizam ghayro, Of course ana ded l nizam bel s3odiyi, akid ana ma3 7oriyet l mar2a w moseweta ma3 l rajol. ana ded l nizam bel s3odiyi w bi kel l belden l 3arabiyi. w berfed enni defi3 3anon w betmana mennak te3mol nafess l shi.
bass l nizam l sourri tkhata kel l 7doud, men te3zib, la 2eghtisab, la 2atel l atfal (betmana testa3lim 3an kiff l sawra balshit bi souriya)...
3ala kollin ana ma bedi fout bisejel. bass 7ebet menak tbatil defi3 3an hek nizam fesid,w bala ra7mi!!!
Je laisse a l'Histoire de jujer ce regime!
laisse perestroika, certains n arrivent pas a comprendre qu on puisse etre contre la syrie et egalement contre le regime integriste saoudien! pour eux si tu es contre la syrie c est que tu defends l arabie saoudite! esprit binaire voila tout...
mais comme ils ne font que repeter ce qu ils entendent de leur leader evidemment ils n arrivent pas a tout a fait reflechir d eux memes...
de plus tu leur montre les pires horreurs commises par le regime syrien qui tue ses propres citoyens(ce qui ne les choque pas du tout!) ils te diront que c est de la propagande sioniste ou americaine...
ils glorifient un regime qui n en est pas a ses premiers crimes contre l humanite (hama par exemple ou maintenant ce meme regime a construit des ecoles sur les fosses communes!)
haram 3aleyhoum
after patriotic lebanese exposed their lies, the filthy zionist information war department went on to drop their usual retarded comments on syria in general
The filthy Syrian and Iranian war department is afraid of the fall of Assad , of course they will deny it and try to prove how great things are for them , but their time is coming .. So I advice them to reconcile with fellow Lebanese before its too late
The only thing that is filthy ya jabalkarantina is the hole you crawled out of when u were born....
Benzona ... from all the people who commented on this story ... ur the only MAN
RIP Gilles
I wish others will look at the real issue here and that human lives are being lost here. WAKE UP IDIOTS OF ALL SIDES AND STOP THESE IDIOTIC COMMENTS. Leaders from both sides are just toying with your lives and you are sooo happy to roll over when they tell u to. Start having minds of your own and THINK!
(P.S. my name is due to the extreme lunacy of this ahbal amel and not driven by any political issues)
Let me get this straight...
1- Journalists are finally authorised to step foot in Syria.
2- The regime escorts them to Homs.(not just any city)
3- SUDDENLY a few men gather in front of the journalist and start praising Bashar !??!
4- Again, SUDDENLY, two rockets are fired at those people who had started their little dance!?!
...
5- Journalists from the world witness the barbaric ways of "the terrorists" and relay the story...
...
Now, if the sandwich believes that this story is credible, believable, and won't raise any doubts... I question his iq.
thepatriot: the second you dismiss any visible proof because "it is too convenient", then nothing can be proven except what comforts your opinion.
peace: tu te veux l'intellectuel autodidacte qui s’érige contre ceux "a l'esprit binaire" et qui ne savent pas réfléchir par eux-mêmes. et tu cites hama.
Fais ta recherche silteplait avant de répéter les ragots des medias:
Attack by insurgents in Hama
The events of the Hama massacre began on 2 a.m. on 3 February 1982. An army unit searching the old city "stumbled on the hideout of the local guerilla commander, `Umar Jawwad," (aka Abu Bakr) and were ambushed. Other insurgent cells were alerted by radio and "roof-top snipers killed perhaps a score" of Syrian soldiers. Reinforcements were rushed to besiege Abu Bakr who then "gave the order for a general uprising" in Hama. Mosque loudspeakers used for the call to prayer called for jihad against the Ba'ath, and hundreds of Islamic insurgents rose to attack the homes of government officials and Baath Party leaders, overrun police posts and ransack armories. By daybreak of the morning of 3 February some 70 leading Ba'athists had been killed
On 16 June 1979, the Muslim Brotherhood carried out an attack on cadets at the Aleppo Artillery School, officially killing 83. Allegedly, the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq provided logistical and military support to the Brotherhood.[citation needed] Around this time, professor Yusef al-Yusef was assassinated in Aleppo, an event often cited by secular activist Wafa Sultan as the reason she came to oppose Islam in general.
les freres musulmans n'en sont pas a leur premier coup aujourd'hui et ne l'etaient pas non plus en 82. leur idéologie est obscurantiste et brutale, ils tentent d'imposer leur vision fondamentaliste de l'islam par la force, selon les préceptes du cher abdel wahhab
non. ils parait qu'ils sont des militants "pro-democratie" qui ne demandent que la liberte et la paix civile. aucune crainte a avoir de la part de ces heros. qu'ils puissent envoyer une rpg pr tuer des alaouites qui etaient en compagnie du reporter de France 2 est inconcevable...
y en a vraiment bcp d'alice au pays des merveilles par ici
Mowaten: An arrogant blogger whose belief is "the more I post, the more credible I am".
Mowaten: Un blogueur arrogante dont la croyance est "plus je poste, le plus crédible, je suis".
freeleb: l'article ke tu qualifies de alice o pays des merveilles est un article du figaro. je te le rappelle.
peace, i keep referring to 1973 until you stop lying about syria not fighting for the golan. once israel grabbed the golan it had a strategic edge
over syria and any battle for the golan would at this point be suicidal. especially that israel also happens to be a nuclear power with the latest US technology. golan will be returned through diplomacy or through an all scale war on israel (maybe egypt-lebanon-syria-iran). otherwise, israel will keep its annexed territories.
i'm glad that an empty headed creature is 'questioning' my iq. shows how democratic this country is (:
profile: un imbecile qui utilise google translator pr traduire une ligne
how about resisting the temptation of insult to those who do not think like you??? it is kind of odd for those who defend "democracy" and despise "dictatorship" to be so prone to hateful comments. quit the double standards so that an intelligent exchange can take place
mowaten forget about peace... it's a disaffected pseudo-intellectual who happens to side with M14: an incurable case. it even thinks that syria starves its people while actually it has a much more advanced economy and industry than lebanon. people like peace also used to think that kaddafi starved his own people while in reality, libya was the most prosperous north african country. when people rely on media brainwashing to tell fashion their 'truth' , sallim... i'm sure most M14ers used to shop for cheap clothes in syria over the weekend, during peaceful times. and now they want syria to fall because syria is 'evil' (:
Martadella. Je faisais reference aux alices si pretes a croire les cliches des journaux televises occidentaux ou tout est blanc ou noir. les gentils sont les pro-democraties et les mechants sont le regime et ses sbires. je ne peux que craindre l'obscurantisme (qu'il soit en turban ou en costume cravate). et le pritemps arabe, pr l'instant, a montre plus d'obscurite que de lumiere.
the city of hama contains christian minorities who were attacked by the muslim brotherhood. assad cracked down on them. end of the hama story. any old kataeb/LF would tell you this is how it happened. any other twist in the story is pure revisonism and lies to discredit what the syrian regime did for its minorities
"je ne peux que craindre l'obscurantisme (qu'il soit en turban ou en costume cravate)"
mes excuses.. 100% d'accord sur cette phrase. malheureusement, bcp ici voient le costume cravate comme 'civilisé' et 'honnete' alors que le turban ne peut etre que l'obscurantisme lui-meme.
profile, you were funny the 2 or 3 or 318 first times you posted your "profiles". now you're starting to sound boring. have a nice day and post with your real profile instead of taking out this one everytime you dont know what to answer.
@mowaten
Read again... I have no certainty (unlike the sandwich who is only good at insulting others)...I have doubts...I think that's fair enough...
I also wonder if this incident was not a justification for keeping away the journalists from syria...
thepatriot, as ong as you have doubts... because usually you seem pretty certain of every rumor and declaration made by anyone anti-assad, or anti-resistance...
@FreeLeb
What goes around comes around...
Apres 60 ans de dictature, les hommes deviennent des betes... les regimes autoritaires ont tous une date de peremption...je n'excuse personne...il faut juste essayer de comprendre...
Yes, we know that the syrian regime is the victim of gangs, terrorists, US, Future Movement, Israel, the Saudis,the Arabs, etc...
Who have they not acused yet?
They are only collecting the fruit of their policy during the last decades.
L'obscurantisme en turban: Hassan Nasrallah
L'obscurantisme en costume: Nabih Berri
;-)
mowaten: "A self-proclaimed know-all & expert on everything from military, social, to political matters."
@thepatriot,it s very good to doubt AND give the benefit of the doubt and most of all to put it into practice. Those who who are always certain are fools.
Nonetheless, just as a reminder about the last decades, the US, Future Movement, Israel, the Saudis, the Arabs, etc... were all very happy to put Syria in charge of Lebanon and let them have their way in LB. They were not so worried about upholding freedom and democracy for Leb people. Now that their vital interests are shifting they remember their cherished principles. Doubts and benefit of the doubts should allow you not to be deceived by such double standards. And yes, sometimes they do send spooks on the field to train thugs and terrorists
essaie plutot l'obscurantisme en turban: les salafistes qui proliferent
L'obscurantisme en costume: George W Bush et ses acolytes neo cons
;-)
L'obscurantisme en costume: Mars 14 mais ils ne le savent pas encore (:
@FreeLeb
True (well...some of it, I won't elaborate it would be too long because you gereralised quite a bit), this is why we should take advantage of the geopolitical context and share common interrests now before they shift again.:)
Je ne vois pas vraiment ce que Bush viens faire la dedans... il est parti ya un moment...t'es au courant non??
Les speech facon Grand Satan sont passes de mode mon cher...
What double standards?
@sandwich
you spend too much time here. Shouldn't you attend to ur employees??
@thepatriot: *tend to, not attend to. i'm not a grammar freak, but when mocking someone and trying to sound witty while dismissing him, it's important not to look stupid by making stupid mistakes
@thepatriot the geopolitical context at one point ended the outsourcing of lb to syria, then it shifted to a situation where anjar was replaced by awkar in every aspect of foreigners advancing their causes & interests @ the expense of lebs fighting each other. If u want to be true to ur name (patriot), then resent it and stop following unconditionally. Et merci de me prevenir pr la mode passee du grand satan. Je vais p etre rallier ton camp maintenant que la mode a change. C ds l air du temps de changer de camp anyway. Qt a bush et ses copains (incl libanais) il est l illustration parfaite des consequences de l obscurantisme mystique en costume cravate
Both words work mowaten. You're waisting my time.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/attend
mortadella ""city of hama contains christian minorities who were attacked by the muslim brotherhood. assad cracked down on them""
yes it surely justifies the massacre of 25 000 people killed by bombs...
you are insane..
oh and another stupidity: "over syria and any battle for the golan would at this point be suicidal. especially that israel also happens to be a nuclear power with the latest US technology. "
so i guess the hezb can attack israel because lebanon is nuclear proof and it is not suicidal for it...
what justifications to defend the syrian coward regime!
you d better say nothing instead of these stupidities
sweat-a-della: "owns his "own" business, a hight tech start-up Basterma & Falafel stand in Bourj Hammoud"
Great saying(s) of Mowaten: "not a grammar freak, but believes when mocking someone and trying to sound witty while dismissing him, it's important not to look stupid by making stupid mistakes"
waaaaaaait wait wait... 25000 people killed with bombs???? LOOOOOOOL
where do you bring me such overblown numbers??
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_1981_Hama_massacre
please man, there's this great invention called the internet! it's useful to help u find info instead of making it up.
plus invading israel from the golan is suicidal for syria because now they have the lower ground. and the golan offers buffering for nuclear attacks if israel wishes so. attacking israel from lebanon has many advantages of heights overlooking north palestine and closeness to inhabited israeli areas, rendering nuclear warfare useless against south lebanon.
and as the 2006 war showed, militia tactics are very efficient against regular armies, which gives an edge to hezbollah. anyway your hama massacre BS tells me enough of your emotional kiddie attitude.
@harrison
"@sandwich
you spend too much time here. Shouldn't you attend to ur employees?? "
that's the luxury of being my own boss :D
dont you have an allowance to cash?
i counted 14 posts so far by this idiot mortadella......! Ok ok we get the point, you have nothing else to do, you are ugly, lonely, and nobody wants to go out with you. Try visiting "lonelyhearts.com". God, this is not a social site. It is distressing to see his on and on and on comments about nothing..... ufffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hama
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_de_Hama
http://www.massviolence.org/Le-massacre-de-Hama-fevrier-1982
havve a GOOD look mortadella... i can even give you more sites PROVING there were more than 20 000 killed...
so please STOP denying the truth just for the sake of your beloved dictatorship... GOT IT?
http://www.massviolence.org/Le-massacre-de-Hama-fevrier-1982
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_de_Hama
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hama_massacre
http://www.voltairenet.org/Le-massacre-de-Hama
take a GOOD look mortadella and STOP denying the truth to defend your beloved terrorist regime! i can even give you more sites proving this historical FACT... GOT IT?
moratdella: how many sandwiches did you sell today? give us statistics of basterma versus falafel, and to what you attribute your success as a "businessman"?
Amnesty International's November 1983 report estimated that 10,000 to 25,000 people had been killed during the crackdown.
The death toll is unknown, but estimates range from 10,000 to 40,000. Contemporaneous accounts describe the stench of rotting corpses wafting out of the rubble.
http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2011/0801_syria_doran_shaikh.aspx#_ftnref2
20,000 http://wn.com/Hama_massacre
40,000 http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/battles.htm
...but noooooo....the silly sandwich knows better ;)
Never argue with an idiot.... they drag you down to their level then beat you with experience!
@Freeleb
Its always refreshing to get the point of view of a teenager :)
haram mortadella, he is not selling enough sandwiches these days, so he spends all his lonely time on here hoping for some "virtual" customers, but no one is "biting".
@the patriot Thank God we have for us teenagers we have mature cynics like u to guide us out of naive perdition. Again u seem to have no doubts whatsoever. Draw ur own conclusions on ur level of maturity
humm had never heard it used like that but i guess you're right. mea culpa :)
and yes it's wasting ;)





