Syria: Bodies of slain journalists returned to embassy officials

GlobalPost

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The bodies of Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik were delivered to embassy officials in Syria today, the Associated Press reported.

The two were killed in bombardment on February 22. A shell hit the house that was being used as a makeshift media center and Colvin and Ochlik were killed when trying to escape the building. Javier Espinosa, who was marooned in Baba Amr after the attack and returned to Beirut this week, said the journalists were fleeing the building when they heard the noise of the approaching shell that killed the two and injured others, according to CNN.

More from GlobalPost: Marie Colvin: video claims she is buried in Homs, shows a body

The status of the bodies was in doubt after conflicting reports emerged. Activists posted videos said to depict the journalists' burials, while SANA, the Syrian state news agency, reported that they were in posession of the corpses. SANA began to report from Baba Amr and Homs after the Free Syrian Army withdrew and Syrian troops overwhelmed the district. 

A seven-truck convoy of Red Cross aid still has yet to enter Baba Amr, according to the BBC, which reported that activists fear the delay is permitting government reprisal and a coverup of the number of dead. Several unconfirmed reports cited by the broadcaster allege mass arrests of men 12 years old and up, a sighting of a truck filled with corpses was spotted on a highway, and revenge killings.

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