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The province of Aleppo, Syria, one of the most severely affected by bombing | EFE
At least 70 journalists and media professionals are trapped in southern Syria between the province of Deraa and neighboring Quneitra, where Bashar al-Assad's regime forces are engaged in an offensive against rebel and Islamist factions, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) reported today.
Forces loyal to the Syrian president have been fighting since June 19 in this southern province, where the Syrian government and the allied militias have already captured 80% of the territory.
In the midst of clashes, at least 70 journalists They are stranded in the nearby city of Quneitra, between forces loyal to Al Asad and the borders of Israel and Jordan, countries that have kept their borders closed since the beginning of the war
. As a result of the fighting, as well as the heavy hand of Syrian security services with reporters and media workers in the past, it is not surprising that reporters in Deraa and Quneitra are afraid, "said Sherif Mansour coordinator, CPJ journalists for the Middle East and North Africa
For its part, the Association of Syrian Journalists reported yesterday that some 270 journalists, activists of the networks of 39, information and media "are exposed to imminent danger" In the south of Syria for the advance of Syrian troops. "
In its statement, CPJ reported that he could only confirm 70 of these cases.
"Local journalists are afraid of the Syrian government's advance, Russian forces and militias backed by Iran. We need a safe pbadage from Quneitra, either by the Golan Heights (controlled by Israel) or by (Syria province of) Idlib, and we need guarantees that our security will be guarantee, "he said, one of those journalists trapped, quoted by CPJ and identified as Al Hourani.
Syria is one of World's Most Dangerous Countries for Journalists: At least 120 people have been killed in the country since the beginning of the war in 2011, according to CPJ research EFE
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