Foreign reporters dead in Syria

The French government on Wednesday confirmed the death two journalists in the Baba Amr area of Homs, Syria, as the Syrian regime continued its assault on the rebellious city.

The reporters were French national Remi Ochlik, and Marie Colvin, an American working for Britain's Sunday Times newspaper. Both were veteran reporters in the Middle East and elsewhere, with Colvin's career spanning over two decades.

Ochlik, 28, won a World Press Photo contest for his photograph showing a Libyan opposition fighter squatting on the ground underneath a Libyan flag, with a smoke-filled sky in the background.

Colvin's work for the Sunday Times was considered a leading conflict correspondent. She wore her trademark eye patch after losing her vision in the eye after an ambush in Sri Lanka in 2001.

Two other journalists, French reporter Edith Bouvier of Le Figaro and British photographer Paul Conroy of the Sunday Times, were wounded as well in the bomb assault in Homs.

France has since demanded access to any wounded Western journalists in Syria and summoned the Syrian envoy to Paris. Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said this had been done to "remind him of the intolerable nature of the Syrian government's behavior."

After Colvin and Ochlik's deaths were confirmed, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said "that's enough now, the regime must go."

Rights groups say more than 6,000 people have been killed in the 11-month uprising against the Assad regime. Independent confirmation of such figures is impossible due to a government ban on most foreign journalists from reporting in Syria.

'All options under consideration'

Meanwhile the United States has for the first time appeared to open the door to arming opposition forces in Syria. US officials had categorically ruled out providing weapons to rebels, however recent comments by White House spokesman Jay Carney inferred that all options were now being considered.

"We still believe that a political solution is what's needed in Syria," Carney said.

"We don't want to take actions that would contribute to the further militarization of Syria, because that could take the country down a dangerous path. But we don't rule out additional measures."

Asked if the United States was shifting its stance on arming the rebels, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington did not want to see the violence increase and was concentrating on political efforts to halt the bloodshed.

"That said ... if we can't get Assad to yield to the pressure that we are all bringing to bear, we may have to consider additional measures," she said, declining to elaborate.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to attend the so-called "Friends of Syria" meeting on Friday, at which Arab League and international leaders will try to formulate a plan for dealing with Syria without the support of Russia and China, after the pair vetoed an Arab plan to end the violence at the UN Security Council earlier this month.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, is to meet with Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby in London on Wednesday to discuss the selection of a special envoy to lead an Arab team to monitor violence in Syria.

mz, dfm/acb (Reuters, AP, AFP)