Western journalists killed in Syria shelling

Two western war correspondents have become the latest victims of the Syrian government's violent crackdown in the city of Homs.

They died when mortar shells hit a house being used as a temporary media centre, according to local activists.

The two reporters have been identified as Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik. Both were veteran war correspondents in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Marie Colvin was a highly regarded journalist and correspondent. She was previously wounded in Sri Lanka in 2001 and has worn an eye patch ever since.

Just a day before her death she released a video for the BBC saying the attacks were "absolutely sickening" and describing the make-shift clinic in which she had watched a baby die of his wounds earlier that day.

More than 100 people have reportedly been killed this week, as government-backed forces attacked opposition strongholds.

New video footage has also emerged linking the Assad regime with summary executions around the war-torn country.

State media said security forces had been operating in the area, pursuing "armed terrorist gangs" and that a number had been killed.

Despite the horrific nature of the attacks, the Syrian people are still awaiting the help of the international community, while the UN deliberates on the best course of action.