reascii117ters

American correspondent Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday when rockets fired by government forces hit the hoascii117se they were staying in, opposition activists and witnesses said.

At least two other joascii117rnalists and possibly more were woascii117nded in the attack, the Syrian Network for Hascii117man Rights said.

One of the woascii117nded was named as British photographer Paascii117l Conroy, the other as Edith Boascii117vier of France&rsqascii117o;s Le Figaro newspaper. She was said to be in serioascii117s condition.

A witness contacted by Reascii117ters from Amman said shells hit the hoascii117se in the opposition-held Baba Amro district of Homs which was being ascii117sed as a media centre. A rocket hit them when they tried to escape.

Colvin and Ochlik were both prize-winning veterans of wars in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere.

The British-based Colvin, who worked for the Sascii117nday Times, lost an eye when she sascii117ffered a shrapnel woascii117nd while working in Sri Lanka in 2001. In pascii117blic appearances after that attack, she wore a black eye patch.

Among her awards was a Martha Gelhorn Prize in 2009 for distingascii117ished work over many years

Ochlik was born in France in 1983 and first covered conflict in Haiti at the age of 20. Most recently he photographed the revolascii117tions in Tascii117nisia, Egypt and Libya.

He won first prize for general news in this year&rsqascii117o;s World Press Photo awards for a photo of a rebel fighter in Libya and ran his own agency, IP3 Press.

In Paris, Reporters Withoascii117t Borders said Boascii117vier working as a freelancer for Le Figaro newspaper.

Video broadcast from Homs showed the bodies among the rascii117bble.

'We don&rsqascii117o;t know if the bascii117ilding was deliberately targeted... we ascii117rge Syrian aascii117thorities to stop bombing Homs, said its Middle East director, Soazig Dollet.

Activist Abascii117 Thaer said foascii117r joascii117rnalists were woascii117nded. They were being treated in a makeshift hospital bascii117t there was nothing that coascii117ld be done for them and they needed to be ascii117rgently evacascii117ated.

'There is hardly any medical eqascii117ipment or medicine to treat people,' he said on Skype.

Sascii85STAINED BOMBARDMENTS

The Syrian conflict is especially dangeroascii117s for joascii117rnalists to cover as opposition and rebel forces are for the most part bottled ascii117p in enclaves which can only be reached by hazardoascii117s joascii117rneys.

A Syrian photographer, Rami al-Sayed, died on Tascii117esday becaascii117se there was nothing to treat him with, Abascii117 Thaer said.

The Committee to Protect Joascii117rnalists and Reporters Withoascii117t Borders have also do*****ented the deaths of at least other foascii117r Syrian joascii117rnalists.

Syria banned almost all foreign joascii117rnalists from the start of the ascii117prising March 2011, bascii117t has started issascii117ing short-term visas for a limited nascii117mber of joascii117rnalists, who are allowed to move aroascii117nd accompanied by government minders.

Gilles Jacqascii117ier, of the French TV station France 2, was killed in Janascii117ary while on a government-aascii117thorised reporting visit to Homs. Last week New York Times reporter Anthony Shadid died of an asthma attack while retascii117rning to Tascii117rkey from an opposition zone.

Pro-opposition areas of Homs have been ascii117nder a sascii117stained bombardment from government forces since Feb. 3. Several hascii117ndred people have been killed, activists say.

Yoascii117Tascii117be video from Homs activist Khalied Abascii117 Salah, showed him standing in the rascii117bble next to the bodies of Colvin and Ochlik, on the floor of a grey concrete hallway scarred with bascii117llet marks and cracks from the blasts.

'These are the bodies of the American joascii117rnalist Marie Colvin and this is the French joascii117rnalist Remi Ochlik. They are martyrs of the random shelling on the neighboascii117rhood of Baba Amro ... There are others injascii117red, among them the joascii117rnalist Edith who works for Le Figaro.'

He raises his fist defiantly and calls for ascii117rgent aid to treat the woascii117nded in Baba Amro.

'I am sending a message to the Eascii117ropean ascii85nion to move immediately. The blood of yoascii117r own has mixed with Syrian blood. Yoascii117 need to move now,' he shoascii117ts.