Two journalists killed in Syria, says media watchdog

Two freelance journalists, including a Briton of Algerian origin, have been killed at the Syrian-Turkish border, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday.

“Reporters Without Borders condemns the killing of two freelance journalists who were shot dead after an attack by Syrian forces on a group of about 50 people trying to enter Syria at Darkush on the border with Turkey three days ago,” it said in a statement.

“Immediately after the offensive, the two journalists... were reported to have returned to the scene to collect their equipment. A Syrian army vehicle opened fire on them, killing both,” it added.

According to Reporters Without Borders, one of the journalists was Walid Blidi, “a British national of Algerian origin.”

It named the second one as Nassim Terreri but could not immediately identify his nationality. A third journalist was reportedly wounded in the attack, it said.

In London, the Foreign Office said it was investigating. “We are aware of the reports and we are looking into them,” it said.

Three Western journalists have been killed in Syria since the start of the uprising in March 2011 against President Bashar al-Assad.

Two of them, Britain’s Sunday Times veteran correspondent Marie Colvin, and French photographer Remi Ochlik died in a rocket attack on a makeshift press centre in the besieged central city of Homs on February 22.

French television reporter Gilles Jacquier was killed on January 11 when a shell exploded among journalists during a government-organized visit to Homs.

Monitors say close to 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in a Syrian government crackdown on dissent.