Two Western Journalists Die in Syrian Shelling

French officials identified those killed as French photojournalist Remi Ochlik and American reporter Marie Colvin, both of whom were working for Britain’s Sunday Times.

Colvin and Ochlik were among a group of journalists who had crossed into Syria and were sharing accommodations with activists, raising speculation that government forces targeted the makeshift media center. 

A Homs-based activist said the two were killed when several rockets hit a garden used by activists and journalists in the besieged neighborhood of Baba Amr. 

For weeks the area has been under heavy bombardment by forces from Assad’s regime.

Syrian activists said at least two other Western journalists were wounded in the shelling, which claimed at least 20 lives.

 “This tragic incident is another example of the shameless brutality of the Assad regime,” a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said. 

Hundreds of people have died in weeks of siege-style attacks on Homs that have come to symbolize the desperation and defiance of the nearly year-long uprising against President Bashar Assad. The UN estimates that 5,400 people have been killed in repression by the regime of president Bashar Assad, but Syrian activists say the death toll over 7,300. 

“I watched a little baby die today,” Colvin told the BBC on Tuesday in one of her final reports. “Absolutely horrific, a 2-year-old child had been hit. They stripped it and found the shrapnel had gone into the left chest…his little tummy just kept heaving until he died.”

The International Red Cross said it was holding talks with members of the opposition Syrian National Council. The ICRC called Tuesday for a daily two-hour halt to fighting in Syria so it can bring emergency aid to the affected area and evacuate the wounded and sick. However, the head of ICRC operations for the Middle East said they had almost no contacts with opposition figures inside Syria.

French officials responded in outrage over the deaths of the journalists. "That’s enough now, the regime must go,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

The Obama administration said they still hope for a political solution, but faces with the daily onslaught by the Assad regime against Syrian civilians. Officials dropped the adminsitration’s previous strident opposition to arming anti-regime forces. It remained unclear if the U.S. might play in providing such aid. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.