Spanish reporter escapes from Homs

Javier Espinosa, El Mundo correspondent trapped in besieged Syrian city, is smuggled to safety as fighting rages in Baba Amr Javier Espinosa, the El Mundo correspondent who has been trapped in a besieged suburb of the Syrian city of Homs, has escaped to safety. Espinosa, who has written a series of dramatic dispatches from Homs – some published in the Guardian – was smuggled out afternoon after making the perilous journey out of the city. He was reporting from Baba Amr, the suburb that has been under siege for 25 days, and was one of the tiny group of journalists trapped there when two of them, including the Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, were killed last week. It was disclosed on Wednesday that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad had refused permission for the UN’s humanitarian aid chief, Valerie Amos, to enter the country, despite the urgings of Moscow. Reports also emerged of heavy fighting on all four sides of the Baba Amr district. Meanwhile Kofi Annan, the new UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, said he would hold talks in New York with the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, and member states. He will then meet the Arab League chief, Nabil Elaraby, in Cairo. According to witnesses, the Syrian army’s 4th Division has moved towards the outskirts of Baba Amr, where troops were involved in heavy clashes with members of the Free Syrian Army. Espinosa’s escape follows that of Colvin’s colleague, the Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy, who was smuggled to safety on Sunday evening after the journalists were split up during their escape attempt while under attack by government troops. Thirteen activists were killed trying to get them to safety. The campaign group Avaaz, which helped coordinate the escape of Conroy said on Wednesday night that Espinosa had reached Lebanon. In a statement the group said: “Javier Espinosa left Baba Amr with Paul Conroy and the Syrian activists on Sunday. But after the Syrian Army shelled the fleeing party, he was separated from Conroy and the activists as he stopped to tend to the wounded and severely injured. “For several hours he was unaided before he was reunited with a group that were able finally to escort him to safety in Lebanon. “Sadly two more journalists, Edith Bouvier and William Daniels, remain trapped in Homs tonight as a full-scale ground invasion of the Baba Amr neighbourhood appeared to begin. “Government forces were today engaged in an assault on four fronts after the most severe shelling of the last 26 days where over 20,000 people remain.” Bouvier broke her leg badly during the attack that killed Colvin and the French photographer Remi Ochlik last week. Sources of reliable news from inside Homs were scarce on Wednesday as activists in the city were cut off for long periods from communicating with the outside world. The rebels have sworn to fight to the last man, according to Ahmed, an activist who said he had just left Baba Amr. He said other opposition areas of Homs were also under attack but gave no details of casualties. Activists in the city said in a statement: “Pray for the Free Syrian Army. Do not be miserly in your prayers for them.” Speaking via Skype, Ahmed said: “We call on all Syrians in other cities to move and do something to lift the pressure off Baba Amr and Homs. They should act quickly.” However, some activists said leaders of the Farouq Brigade of the Free Syrian Army had already left Baba Amr. Homs, a symbol of opposition to Assad in a nearly year-long revolt, was without power or telephone links, Ahmed said. YouTube footage posted by activists showed army trucks and tank carriers on a highway purportedly heading for Homs. Reports from the city could not immediately be verified due to tight government restrictions on media work in Syria, where Assad is facing the gravest challenge of his 11-year rule. A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Hicham Hassan, said the violence was making the humanitarian situation more difficult. “This makes it even more important for us to repeat our call for a halt in the fighting,” he said. “It is essential that people who are in need of evacuation – wounded people, women and children – that we are able to offer them that with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.” Libya will donate $100m (£62m) in humanitarian aid to the Syrian opposition and allow them to open an office in Tripoli, a government spokesman said, in a further sign of its strong support for forces fighting Assad. Representatives from the Syrian National Council visited Tripoli this week after Mustafa Abdel, chairman of Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC), made the initial offer earlier this month to host an office there. The UN said on Tuesday that it estimated Assad’s security forces had killed more than 7,500 civilians since the revolt began last March. This figure was significantly higher than previous estimates. This is disputed by Syria’s government, which said in December that “armed terrorists” had killed more than 2,000 soldiers and police during the unrest. France said this week that the UN security council was working on a new Syria resolution and urged Russia and China not to veto it, as they have previous drafts. An outline drafted by Washington focused on humanitarian problems to try to win Chinese and Russian support and isolate Assad, western envoys said. But they said the draft would also suggest Assad was to blame for the crisis – a stance opposed particularly strongly by his long-time ally Russia. But China’s foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, also called for political dialogue in Syria, something ruled out by Assad’s opponents while the bloodshed goes on. Russia has warned against interference in Syria under a humanitarian guise. Avaaz said in its statement about its help in the rescue of Espinosa that it was disappointed “with the irresponsible behaviour of the Spanish Embassy in Lebanon who have released information before all the journalists are safely out of the country”. It continued: “To our immense sadness, 13 brave Syrian volunteers were killed in the evacuation attempt. Three were killed as they tried to help all four journalists to exit Baba Amr on Sunday night. Seven were killed helping French journalists Edith Bouvier and William Daniels back to the Baba Amr field hospital, after their escape was shelled by the Syrian government. “Espinosa and Conroy managed to escape the city, but were subsequently separated in a further shelling attack, apparently targeted by the Syrian army, later that night. Three volunteers died in this.” Ricken Patel, executive director of Avaaz said: “As the Syrian Army tightens its iron grip around Homs, the staggering bravery of activists has freed another journalist today. “Javier Espinosa risked his own rescue when he was separated as he stopped to attend to wounded activists as they were shelled. We can only hope that the bravery of these individuals is matched by the courage of the international community in stopping the horrific atrocities in Homs today.” Syria Arab and Middle East unrest Bashar al-Assad Middle East and North Africa United Nations Marie Colvin Journalist safety Peter Beaumont guardian.co.uk

Posted by Breaking News Online on February 29, 2012. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.