Media activists fear for their lives in southwestern Syria

by Bassem Mroue | BEIRUT – Several media activists and citizen journalists based in southwestern Syria have called on Wednesday for help so that they can leave the region as it is about to fall into the hands of [19659003] The appeal was issued while the Committee for the Protection of Journalists issued a statement that at least 70 Syrian journalists were "trapped" in the south-west of the country, where government forces were at risk. offensive for three weeks. Opposition media activists say they fear for their lives if they are captured by government troops, adding that citizen journalists have disappeared after Syrian forces have taken the eastern suburbs of the capital, Damascus, more early this year and their fate remains unknown. Since 19 July, government forces have captured most of the southwestern province of Daraa and control much of the border with Jordan. This left most of the citizen journalists trapped in the neighboring province of Quneitra, along the Israeli-occupied border with the Golan Heights. "We want to be evacuated from Quneitra to Turkey or any other place in the world" Jalal al-Ahmad

Al-Ahmad and two other citizen journalists who spoke to the Associated Press by telephone said the agreements negotiated by Russia to evacuate Syrian rebels and their families in the region do not include media activists. 19659010] "No one has yet discussed the fate of the journalists," said al-Ahmad, adding that many fear death under torture from the hands of Syrian troops after they took the area. "We have received death threats on the phone and via Facebook."

Another citizen reporter named Maher Hariri said that they were besieged and "want someone to save our lives". We want to go to a safe place.

According to CPJ, Syria is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. At least 120 journalists have been killed in the country in relation to their work since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, according to CPJ research. At the time of the last CPJ prison census, at least seven journalists were in Syrian state prisons while many others were missing.

"Given the danger of fighting and the brutal treatment of journalists and the media, it is no wonder that the journalists of Daraa and Quneitra are scared," said Sherif Mansour, CPJ Coordinator for the Middle East. East and North Africa, Washington

"We call all governments of the region to"

Syrian fighter planes and combat helicopters bombed areas of the Yarmouk Basin on Wednesday, in the vicinity, controlled by a faction linked to the Islamic State group.The strikes took place one day after a suicide bombing in the village of Zeizoun killed 14 soldiers, said a war supervisor.

Syrian part of the Yarmouk Basin is controlled by the army Khaled bin Al-Waleed

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in Britain said the airstrikes took place while the government continued to send reinforcements to the area before a ground offensive. The extremists are holding about 30,000 civilians as "human shields," says the Observatory.

The Aamaq affiliate, affiliated with the IS, claimed responsibility for the Zeizoun attack, which was captured by government forces earlier this week. of the offensive in the south of Syria. The Observatory said that the suicide bombing had killed 14 soldiers and pro-government gunmen.

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