Sunday 10 June 2012

UK’s Ch. 4 Correspondent: Free Syrian Army Drove us into no-man’s Zone to get us Killed by Regime Forces

Alex Thompson, Channel 4 News's chief correspondent,
said he was driven out into the centre of no-man's land
was a deliberate move by rebels to get them killed

The UK-based Channel 4 News's chief correspondent, Alex Thomson, recalled how he and his crew were driven into a no-man's zone by the Syrian rebels, so that they would be killed by the regime forces' fire.
"I'm quite clear the rebels deliberately set us up to be shot by the Syrian Army. Dead journos are bad for Damascus," Thomson wrote on the Channel 4 News' Blog.

He stated that he and his crew were with a small group from the Free Syrian Army, which led them to a "free-fire zone" on the edge of al-Qusayr.

He indicated that before they started their journey to meet the rebel members, the UN personnel accompanying them had warned them that if anything goes wrong, they would be on their own. This is exactly what happened; Thomson said that as he entered with his crew to the free-fire zone, and the ambush was as clear as sun, the UN vehicles abandoned them and drove away as the journalists' van was surrounded by shouting militias.

Also, Thomson said that his van made it out on their own, and were able to head back to Damascus, after four men in a black car led them straight into the said free-fire zone, and then to a blocked off road; and as the sniping started, they discovered that they has been led by rebel troops straight to a dead-end.

"That conviction only strengthened half an hour later when our four friends in the same beaten-up black car suddenly pulled out of a side-street, blocking us from the UN vehicles ahead," Thomson went on to say.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org

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