User:Crtew/Mohammed Hourani

Mohamed Hourani, (ca. 1980 – January 18, 2013), was a 33 year old Syrian journalist and TV reporter for the Al-Jazeera from Doha, Qatar. He was killed by a regime sniper while covering violent confrontations on a Friday afternoon in the province of Basr al-Harir located in Daraa, Syria. The phenomenon following the murder was due to him covering the crisis due to the Syrian War.

Personal
Hourani, whose real name was Mohamed Al-Massalma used a fictitious identity to keep him safe from the violence behind his journalism, was from Doha, Quatar. According to the news site they stated, that his family were refugees residing somewhere in Jordan. Before joining Al-Jazeera Al-Massalma was an activist in the revolution against president Bashar al-Assad.

Career
Hourani was a TV reporter and journalist for the Al-Jazeera. His work was always at a high risk due to the accuracy that he would give in his work. His peers talked highly about his dedication to his job, and claimed that he was both accurate and fearless when it came to covering certain issues.

Death
Al-Massalma was shot and killed on January 18, 2013 by a sniper in a town called Basr al-Harir, in the Daraa province in Syria while covering the Syrian battle disputes. There is a video recording of the attack on Al-Massaluma showing him in a khaki colored, Al-Jazeera jumper, with his glasses still on his face, and his brown hair parted in half. In the video he is shown in line with other rebels and being told to run across a muggy, muddy alleyway while the regime sniper shot at them, almost like a sick game. When his turn comes he can be seen running with his microphone still in hand, only to be taken down almost immediately by three bullets. His killing was due to a plan that the rebels formed to take over Daraa, who was split between both the government and the rebels at the time. It's unsure how many people were involved in these killings but what is known that it is by the government itself. He was the second journalist in Syria to have been killed in less than a 24 hour window due to pro-government militias. Before that attack in the city of Aleppo a French journalist, Yves Debay who was killed with two bullets. One shot to the head, and another in the chest, also by a sniper and for the same reason of covering the violence in Syria. Because it was government affiliated there was no case, and no investigation that furthered into the killings of these journalist, along with others.

Context
In 2012, Syria was reported to be one of the most dangerous places for journalists. It had a recorded body count of 28 killed journalist in 2012, making it be classified as the deadliest place to cover stories, especially ones that go against government officials. During the revolt of president Bashar al-Assad, the country's very own government officials were killing insurgent's, and other activists covering war stories, or trying to riot. Due to Hourani's involvement in the rebel side and covering what his colleagues called blunt stories his life was at risk. The town of Basr al-Harir was a center point of the riots during the Syrian Civil War, which ultimately lead to danger and the killing of Hourani. Syria's war conflict has killed about 60,000 people in less than two years with most of them being civilians.

Impact
Al-Massalma was important for his role in his blunt and accurate work for the Al-Jazeera. Although he used a fake name to cover his work, he got caught in the crossfire of both the regime and rebels. He was not only a journalist but also a TV reporter. After the deaths of many reporters, and innocent people, a petition was made especially for the Syrian war for the cause of war crimes to be looked in depth, but unfortunately the United Nations did not make this their focal point.

Reactions
The death count for the reporters killed in Syria went up to 20, but other sources claim that there was at least up to 28 killed. After several reporters and journalists being killed in 2012, Syria was labeled to be one of the most deadliest places for that line of work. UN leader Ban Ki-moon stepped in and labeled Syria as being on a "death spiral" and pleaded for the UN Security Council to take a more authoritative movement towards the situation.