In the Syrian Homs, an American journalist and French photographer were killed

Two employees of the Western media died on Wednesday in the Syrian city of Homs as a result of shelling by its government troops fighting the opposition. The victims were an American - an employee of the British weekly Sunday Times Mary Colvin - and the French photographer Remi Kollo, with reference to representatives of the opposition of BBC .

It is reported that the journalists died as a result of the projectile entering the building, in which an impromptu press center is located in the Central District of Baba AMR. According to some reports, three more or four journalists were injured as a result of shelling. The death of a French journalist confirmed the Foreign Ministry of France, reports ITAR-TASS. Earlier, on January 11, the French television journalist Gilles Zhakier died in Homs.

In total, about 40 local residents died as a result of the attack on the Homs, representatives of the opposition said. In the city, which has become one of the centers of resistance to the regime of the Syrian President Bashar al -Assad, battles continue. Government troops are shelling quarters occupied by the army of the rebels.

In addition to the shelling of Homs, government troops carry out raids to the settlements of the Idlib province near the border with Turkey. On Tuesday, as a result of such attacks, according to the opposition, more than 100 people were killed, including women and children.

The unrest in Syria has been going on for almost a year - since March 2011. According to the UN, during this time, more than five thousand people died as a result of clashes. Syrian oppositionists claim that the real number of victims is much larger. According to them, it exceeded 7.6 thousand people, most of which are civilians, the AFP agency reports on Wednesday with reference to the Syrian Monitoring Center for Compliance with Human Rights based in London (OSDH).