Gilles Jacquier Live Blog

18 weeks 6 days ago - Syria

 

France on Friday opened a murder probe into the killing of a French journalist in Syria, amid suspicions of regime collusion in the first death of a Western journalist since protests began 10 months ago.

Judicial sources said a murder enquiry had been opened into the killing on Wednesday of 43-year-old France 2 television reporter Gilles Jacquier during a government-organised trip to Homs, a flashpoint for anti-regime protests.

Jacquier's body arrived back in France on Friday morning and an autopsy is to be carried out later in the day after his death during a shelling attack in Homs while being accompanied by President Bashar al-Assad's troops. [AFP]

Tags death, France, Gilles Jacquier, homs, journalist
19 weeks 21 hours ago - Syria

 

Syrian television aired pictures they said were of the aftermath of an attack which killed a French television cameraman and killed at least eight Syrian civilians on Wednesday.

Syria's state run television reported that "a terrorist group" was responsible for the attack in the Ekrima neighbourhood in Homs that wounded several people including a Belgian journalist.

According to the newsreader "terrorists fired mortar shells at the journalists' delegation as it was on the way to check aftermath and destruction (of a separate attack) caused by terrorists."

State-controlled television aired pictures of the aftermath of the attack that killed Gilles Jacquier, who worked for France-2 Television.

The newsreader added that a Belgium journalist sustained serious injuries from the "terrorist" attack and was receiving medical attention at the Nahde hospital in Homs.  [AP]

Tags France, Gilles Jacquier, homs, journalist killed
19 weeks 1 day ago - France

France demanded an investigation after television journalist Gilles Jacquier was killed in the Syrian city of Homs.

According to an AFP reporter at the scene on Wednesday , a shell exploded amid a group of journalists covering demonstrations in the city on a visit organised by the  authorities. Several more people were reported wounded. 

One of those hurt was a Belgian journalist who was hit in the eye.

Jacquier's death was confirmed by his employer, France 2 public television.

He joined public television in 1991 and was an award-winning veteran who had covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Israel. 

The Syrian information ministry said it was aware of an incident involving  foreign journalists, but could not provide any further details. 

"We vigorously condemn this odious act," French Foreign Minister Alain  Juppe said in a statement, demanding the circumstances of the death be  clarified, and reminding Syria of its duty 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.

[Source: AFP]

Tags Gilles Jacquier, homs, syria
19 weeks 1 day ago - Syria
 A French journalist was among several people killed in Syria's central city of Homs on Wednesday, 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. 
 
Jacquier, who had previously reported from Iraq and Afghanistan, had been invited to Syria by the government, the television station said. 
  
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 duringa 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.
 
[Source: Reuters]
Tags France 2, Gilles Jacquier, homs

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