PARIS: French judicial authorities have issued arrest warrants for ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and six other top former officials over the 2012 bombardment of a rebel-held city that killed two journalists.
The warrants target those responsible for the attack in Homs that killed American journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik on February 22, 2012.
French authorities are investigating the incident as both a potential crime against humanity and a war crime.
British photographer Paul Conroy, French reporter Edith Bouvier and Syrian translator Wael Omar were also wounded in the attack on their informal press centre.
Assad escaped to Russia with his family after being ousted by Islamist rebels at the end of 2024, though his precise whereabouts remain unconfirmed.
The warrants notably target Assad’s brother Maher al-Assad, who led the 4th Syrian armoured division during the attack.
They also include intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk and then-army chief of staff Ali Ayoub among the seven individuals named.
Lawyer Clemence Bectarte stated that the arrest warrants represent a decisive step toward a potential trial in France for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The International Federation for Human Rights stated the journalists had entered the besieged city clandestinely to document regime crimes.
Mazen Darwish noted the investigation established the attack was part of the regime’s explicit intention to target foreign journalists.
Colvin was known for her fearless reporting and signature black eye patch, which she wore after losing an eye in Sri Lanka’s civil war.
Her career was celebrated in the Golden Globe-nominated film “A Private War”. – AFP