Four Syrian Journalists killed near Damascus

Syrian revolutionary activists assured killing of the prominent war reporter Mohamed al-Saeed in Damascus countryside with three other citizen journalists by Shiite forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad.

Ammar Tabajo,who used the alias Mohammed Saeed had been provided information to many Western-based media outlets over the past three years. 

Tabajo played an instrumental role, particularly in the early phases of the uprising, as a source of information for the media, and was a rare activist who appeared regularly on Arab TV stations. He was one of the first to report on the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack, going to makeshift clinics to observe the aftermath, according to AP.

The death convoy of  war storytellers in Syria has no end, activists said, where most of the International news agencies and Humans Rights watchdogs are completely depending on the young activists who volunteered to cover the atrocities of the war-torn country.

Journalists in Syria have been killed by snipers, accused of spying, and kidnapped by gunmen, and with the threats growing, many say the conflict is now too dangerous to cover, AFP reported two weeks ago.

The risks have increased the challenge of reporting from the country, which was already difficult because of violence, regime visa restrictions and propaganda on both sides.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says at least 25 professional journalists and 70 citizen journalists have been killed in the conflict.

But for many reporters, the bigger fear comes from abductions, which have been on the rise in the Syria conflict.

RSF says at least 16 foreign journalists are missing in Syria, although many cases have not been made public at the request of their families.

Among those kidnapped is James Foley, a US freelance journalist who worked for outlets.  

 War reporter Mohamed al-Said

Though journalists have been killed while reporting from the regime side, most deaths and kidnappings have been among those behind rebel lines.

The deteriorating conditions have prompted many international media organisations to suspend sending reporters to rebel-held areas.

"Most journalists are saying for now that it is too risky to go to Syria, though many of them want to go and feel that they should," said RSF's Soazig Dollet, according to AFP.

And some media groups now advise foreign reporters to stay out of Syria.

"But it's not going to get easier, what we have to find out is whether it's going to get more,''he added.