Syria finds bodies of three slain foreign journalists in Homs
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E-mail Xinhua, March 2, 2012
Syrian authorities found on Thursday the bodies of the three slain foreign journalists, who were killed a week earlier in restive Baba Amr neighborhood in Homs province, a Syrian foreign ministry source said Thursday.
The bodies, which were buried in Baba Amr, belong to Marie Colvin, an American working for Britain's Sunday Times, French photographer Remi Ochlik, and Spanish Khafier Espinosa.
The source, whose remarks were carried by the state-TV, said the Syrian Red Crescent has made three attempts in coordination with international Red Cross to take out the bodies but armed groups didn't allow them.
The unnamed source said the bodies will be transferred to a hospital in the capital Damascus for a DNA check and later hand them over to their countries' embassies.
The foreign ministry source expressed Syria's condolences to the families of the deceased, and appealed on all foreign journalists not to enter Syria illegally or head to dangerous areas independently.
The latest report by the foreign ministry indicates that the restive Baba Amr area is under the Syrian army's control after being held by armed rebels for more than three weeks.
Cited by Arab TV channels, the Syrian rebels in Homs announced Thursday that they have made what they called a "tactical retreat" from Baba Amr due to shortage in their weapons and deteriorating humanitarian situation caused by the Syrian army siege and shelling on the restive neighborhood.
Media reports claimed that the International Red Cross has been granted permission by the Syrian government to enter Baba Amr with the coordination with Syria's Red Crescent.
Meanwhile, Burhan Ghalioun, head of the Syrian National Council (SNC), said at a press conference in Paris that the council would launch efforts to provide the opponents in Syria with weapons, according to Turkey's Anatolia news agency.
Anatolia quoted Ghalioun as saying that some countries are willing to extend arms assistance to the SNC and the military representation would deal with the distribution of those weapons.
The Paris-based leadership of the SNC also formed a military council Thursday to organize armed resistance in the face of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The SNC, which had called earlier for arming the rebels in Syria, said its plan was coordinated with the Free Syrian Army, an anti-government militia made up mainly of Syrian army defectors.
Even though Qatar and Saudi Arabia have overtly said that they want to arm the rebels in Syria, the United States and its Western allies have shown no appetite for that option fearing more deterioration in the Syrian crisis.
Syria has been gripped with domestic unrest since March of last year. The protest movement has started peacefully demanding modest reforms. But the protesters demands have snowballed to the toppling of Assad regime. Over the past few months protesters started to take up arms, citing what they called "the regime bloody crackdown" on them.
The Syrian government said in December of last year that "armed terrorist groups" had killed more than 2,000 army and security personnel, while the UN said recently that "well over" 7,500 people have died in Syria's violence.
Activists said hundreds of people were killed and more others wounded during the army operation in Baba Amr, adding that a total of 17 people were killed Thursday in Homs.
The government defended its crackdown on that restive area, saying it is fighting armed terrorist groups and al-Qaida members, who have reportedly infiltrated to Syria to fight alongside the rebels.
International pressure on the Damascus regime has grown harsher recently. The UN Security Council Thursday adopted a press statement calling on the Syrian authorities to "allow immediate, full and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel to all populations in need of assistance, in accordance with international law and guiding principles of humanitarian assistance."
The 15-member council expressed their "deep disappointment" that Valerie Amos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, was not granted authorization to visit Syria, calling upon the Syrian authorities to grant her "immediate and unhindered access," said the statement.
Amos has been attempting to enter Syria per the request of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who asked her to visit the country and evaluate the humanitarian situation there.
On Wednesday, Amos said she was "deeply disappointed" that she has not yet been able to visit Syria to assess the humanitarian situation and meet with some of the country's top officials.
However, Syria's foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi dismissed Thursday as "regretful" allegations made by Amos that Syria has refused to receive her, and voiced readiness to consult with her to set a new date for the visit.
The spokesman said in a statement that the Ministry had previously welcomed Amos' visit and expressed readiness to discuss her mission and cooperate with her.
He said Syria was surprised by Amos' arrival in the region and her request to visit Syria at a date that was "inappropriate for us."
The spokesman said Syria is "ready to continue consultations with Amos over the suitable date for the two sides" for her visit to Syria.
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