French reporter dies under armed gangs fire in the Syrian city of Homs

Reporter Gilles Jacquier, working for French state TV channel France2 and entered into Syria on his own initiative to cover the events shaking the country, died today in Homs under the fire of the "Free Syrian Army"’s rockets. This attack left 8 people dead and 25 injured, none of them carrying weapons according to our sources.
On the previous day, the reporter had left the press delegation that had been organized at his request, explaining that he was not interested in the meetings with political and religious leaders that were proposed to him. He had then rented a private vehicle to be able to move around at will, thus freeing from all responsibility the people who had helped him obtain a visa.

French reporter Gilles Jacquier

At the time of the events, the deceased reporter was standing near a pro-government demonstration with his French and Belgian colleagues.
A first rocket-propelled grenade hit the crowd, killing and wounding several people. After assessing the situation from a terrace up above the scene, Mr Jacquier and his cameraman got closer to the bodies in order to film them, then another rocket fell right next to them, killing him and wounding his technician.

This tragic event reminds us that the Syrian people is confronted with armed gangs firing indiscriminately at unarmed passers-by in some of the Syrian cities. It is indeed a case of non-conventional war and not at all a governmental crack-down on “peaceful demonstrations”, as testified by the Arab League delegation.
Mr Jacquier and his colleagues had an appointment with members of the armed opposition and therefore considered themselves protected by the latter, yet the journalists had not yet entered the area controlled by the gangs and were thus standing in the neighbourhood being randomly shelled. Intoxicated by atlantist propaganda, and having refused to listen to the previous victims’ testimonies, they misinterpreted the situation and uselessly exposed themselves.

In the upper left corner, one can see the typical impact point left by "RPG-7"-type, thermobaric rocket-propelled grenades. The latter shows little material damage, contrary to mortar shells that leave a crater and shrapnel traces. However, the blow causes the victims’ internal organs to be crushed within a 10-meter radius.

Contrary to what the NATO-backed, London-based SHRO claimed after the killing, and as clearly shown by Syrian TV footage of the scene, it was indeed a rocket-propelled grenade that hit the sidewalk where the victims were standing.

A man living nearby the scene of the attack shows al-Dounia TV camera the winglets of the rocket-propelled grenade that may have killed French reporter Gilles Jacquier. The Syrian army does not use this old type of rocket against the armed gangs in Homs.