Syrian Citizen-Journalist Rami al-Sayyed Dies During Homs Shelling

Rami al-Sayed was a key provider of online videos showing the Syrian government’s bombardment of the central city of Homs until his death on Tuesday.

Activists said Rami al-Sayed was fatally wounded when shells struck the opposition stronghold of Baba Amr for the 18th consecutive day. He had been trying to help a family flee in a car, witnesses said.

A video posted on his YouTube channel, Syria Pioneer, by Sayed’s brother showed his body in a makeshift clinic in Baba Amr, with shrapnel wounds to his chest, abdomen and legs.

Sayed uploaded more than 800 videos documenting the situation in the city, and used the video streaming website, Bambuser, to broadcast live footage as security forces attempted to wrest control of districts from the rebel Free Syrian Army by firing rockets, mortars and shells.

In our broadcast on Wednesday, Anchor Lisa Mullins gets his story from Malik al-Abdeh, editor-in-chief of Barada-TV, a Syrian opposition channel based in London.

NYTimes: “A video posted on YouTube on Tuesday, said to show the impact of rocket fire in the Syrian city of Homs. According to Syrian activists, the video blogger who recorded these images was killed later in the day.”