2 Western journalists killed in Syria
Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, French photographer Remi Ochlik killed in shelling near Homs; Syrian security forces kill 27 youths in country's north
Two Western journalists were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday when shells hit the house they were staying in, opposition activists and witnesses said.
They were named as Marie Colvin, an American working for Britain's Sunday Times, and French photographer Remi Ochlik.
A witness reached said shells hit the house in which they were staying and a rocket hit them when they were escaping.
Both were veteran correspondents of wars in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Colvin was a fearless reporter who lost an eye when she suffered shrapnel wounds while working in Sri Lanka in 2001. In public appearances after that attack, she wore a black eye patch.
The Syrian conflict is especially dangerous for journalists to cover as opposition and rebel forces are for the most part bottled up in enclaves.
Pro-opposition areas of Homs have been under a sustained bombardment from government forces since Feb.3. Several hundred people have been killed, activists say.
Last week New York Times reporter Anthony Shadid died of an asthma attack while trying to reach an opposition zone.
The Syrian National Council said that military intervention may be inevitable in Syria. The SNC proposed that Russia push Damascus to allow for safe passage for humanitarian convoys.
Also on Wednesday, Syrian troops and militia loyal to President Bashar Assad captured and then shot dead 27 young men in northern villages near Homs.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet representatives of some 70 countries and organizations in Tunis on Friday for the first "Friends of Syria" meeting to coordinate the international community's next steps in response to the nearly year-long uprising against Assad.
Reuters and AP contributed to this report
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