Activists in Aldana in northern rural Idlib said that airstrikes by Russian jets on Sunday on the town killed at least 11 civilians, including the journalist and reporter Ammar Bakkour.
The Association of Syrian Journalists condemned the attack on Aldana as well as the daily targeting of journalists and media activists in Syria by the Assad regime and its allies, calling on concerned international organizations to put pressure on the Assad regime and Russia to stop these attacks.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Association said that at least 200 journalists and media activists have been killed in Syria over the past five years by the Assad regime and its allies. It noted that the ISIS extremist group also targeted journalists in Syria. The Association called for holding accountable perpetrators of attacks and violations against journalists in Syria, especially the Assad regime.
Bakkour, who graduated from the Faculty of Information and Media at the University of Damascus, worked for the Baladuna newspaper before the revolution. He joined the Syrian revolution and moved to Egypt to work with the Syrian Alghad TV. He afterwards moved to Turkey to work for the media office of the Syrian Revolution General Commission. Bakkour co-founded the Siraj Press news outlet and worked for it until the date of its closure in September 2015.
In late 2015, Bakkor joined Kulluna Shurakaa newspaper which on Sunday mourned his death: “Bakkour made dozens of outstanding news reports. He was a decent, professional, and dedicated journalist, an example to us all. The revolution was flowing like blood in his veins. He gave his life reporting events in Syria after refusing to leave the country on whose soil he chose to live and die.”
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Syria as the most dangerous place in the world for journalists with scores of journalists killed, injured or detained. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office)
