The murder of two western journalists in Syria on February 22, 2012 is reminiscent of similar murders in strikingly similar circumstances in Libya less than a year beforehand.
The Misrata Homs Parallel
Before being murdered in April of 2011 during the Battle of Misrata between rebel and Gaddafi loyalist forces, esteemed film maker (if you haven't seen Restrepo by all means do so) Tim Hetherington was murdered. The last that was heard from his experience on the ground was summarized in his last tweet which direly read: "Indiscriminate shelling by Qaddafi forces. No sign of NATO."
It is quite fitting that less than a year later we're hearing of intensive and indiscriminate shelling in the Syrian city of Homs by the Syrian Army under the command of Bashar al-Assad. Syria has banned journalists from entering the country to cover what may soon turn into a large scale massacre.
As was the case with Hetherington, two western journalists have been murdered in Syria. American Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin and award-winning French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed when a shell hit the building they were in.
On the Ground in Homs
Colvin had been a war correspondent for two decades and reported from several different war zones, losing her eye from shrapnel in Sri Lanka in 2001. What she reported seeing in Syria was again reminiscent of Hetherington's last report, unrelenting bombardment by government artillery and tanks in the Baba Amr district of Homs (where she and Mr. Ochlik were killed).
One of the last things she reported on was seeing a little baby die, describing it as “absolutely horrific.” She followed up by stating that upon finding that shrapnel had gone into the baby's chest the doctor she was with realized they couldn't do anything aside from watch him die, stating that this is what “is happening over and over and over.”
She described the Free Syria Army as being very lightly armed, but states the 28,000 people who are in that heavily besieged part of the city are terrified that they will flee. As is evident from her statements and self-evident from her brutal murder, the forces commanded by Assad are indiscriminately shelling predominately civilian areas. In her last article for the Sunday Times she said -- in a manner reminiscent to Hetherington -- that they lived in fear of a massacre.
Conclusion: Lest They Die in Vain
It is clear from these two cases from two different insurrections which have taken place less than a year apart that the situation in Homs is a test for the viability of international law and the basic human rights that are enshrined in and are (supposed to be at any rate) protected by the United Nations Human Rights Charter.
Lets hope that brave people like the aforementioned journalists —who strive to, and put their lives on the line to, inform us about and bring us the dire on-the-scene details, the photographs worth a thousand words, and the grave details regarding these horrific crimes against humanity —did not die in vain.
Sources
- Gaddafi's forces target international journalists in Libya The Guardian
- Documentary maker Tim Hetherington and photographer Chris Hondros killed The Guardian
- Journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik die in Homs BBC News
Paul Iddon - Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist who has an avid interest in history, politics and current affairs.
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