Japanese journalist Mika Yamamoto killed in Aleppo fighting

International [paraphrasing, here] and Arabic blood had been mixed in Aleppo: the words last night of “Captain Ahmad Ghazali, Commander [and spokesperson] of the ‘Northern Storm Brigade’ [Liwa Asifat al-Shamal in Aleppo] said as his comrades moved the body of 45-year-old award-winning Japanese journalist Mika Yamamoto into a van for transport into Turkey.

Yamamoto, a “veteran war correspondent” [words of the The Guardan] who worked for the Tokyo-based Japan Press photo and film agency [described in The Guardian here as an independent TV news provider that specializes in conflict zone coverage], and a former television anchorwoman died hours earlier during fighting she and a colleague [perhaps also her husband/partner?] were covering in Aleppo.

Captain Ahmad Ghazali actually said that “Western and Arabic blood have been mixed in Aleppo”, but that is a little narrow in focus — and with Yamamoto’s death the word “international” would be more accurate. Yamamoto is the fourth international journalist killed during the Syrian uprising, and some 20 Syrian journalists have reportedly died covering the conflict.

Here is an undated still photo that has been posted by MSNBC here:

And here is another photo posted by AFP

AFP reported overnight from Tokyo that “Veteran war reporter Mika Yamamoto died after being shot in the neck as she covered the anti-regime movement in the city, her long-time collaborator Kazutaka Sato told Japanese broadcasters”.  Sato also works with The Japan Press agency.

According to the AFP, Sato told Japanese public television broadcaster NHK that: “We saw a group of 10 to 15 troops ahead on the right, who were walking in double file…When they started shooting, I dashed towards my left where I saw a Free Syrian Army soldier”.  AFP added that Sato told Japanese national television NTV that “The one at the front (of the group of troops) was wearing a helmet and I immediately thought they were government troops. I think I told her to run. At that moment, they started shooting. “We all ran and scattered. After that, I couldn’t see Yamamoto and was told to go to hospital. I found Yamamoto’s body there”.

AFP reported that “Sato was told by a hospital official that Yamamoto was already dead when she arrived, NHK said. The TBS network cited Sato as saying she had been shot in the neck”.

Was the shot fired by a sniper? Was Yamamoto, an international female correspondent, deliberatedly targetted?

The current heavy fighting in Aleppo has been billed as decisive and determinative — an important show-down between the Free Syria Army and the Syrian government.

A very brief video was available yesterday, showing Yamamoto, apparently already dead, and Sato near her — published on Syria Freedom’s Tumblr website [described as “a compilation of Resources and Archives from the Syrian Revolution”, here], but because of the graphic showing of a severe wound to her arm, Youtube has now restricted viewing to those 18 and older here.

Captain Ghazali said, with bitterness, that “We welcome all the media and journalists who come here. We secure their entry, but we are not responsible for Assad’s killing and attacks on foreign media, not even the Syrian media … we are not safe here, every journalist enters on their responsibility, or on the responsibility of the country that they belong to, or the media organisation that sent them … We are now securing the exit of the body of the Japanese journalist and we are ready to secure the exit of any wounded journalist or body, that is all we can do .. I repeat .. that the security of those entering is their own responsibility, and that of the countries that sent them. I hope that those countries would react for their own people, though they didn’t react for the Syrian people”. A translation of his words was posted here

A video [that begins with a close up of Yamamoto’s corpse] and that shows Captain Gazali speaking [backed by four armed men] is posted on Youtube here.

A screenshot of Yamamoto’s face, taken from this video, is shown on Facebook, here.

Captain Ghazali said also said that a local correspondent for the U.S.-government funded Al-Hurra TV is missing [named here as Bashar Abu Anas, elsewhere as Bashar Fahmy], who was captured along with his cameraman [Cuneyt Unal], as well as a Turkish journalist who is not otherwise identified.

Earlier this year, in February, American journalist Marie Colvin [working for the Times of London] and French photographer Reme Ochlin were killed in Homs, and a British cameraman and a French correspondent were injured, when they were filing materials with colleagues in a Free Syria Army media center. It appears that in this case, the Syrian Army was able to target the journalists by tracking the journalists satellite phone signals, as we reported earlier here. And, in January, French television reporter Gilles Jacques, was killed in a sudden shelling attack on a square in Homs.

All these journalists, including Yamamoto, were with the Free Syria Army when they were killed.

[In 2007, Japanese news photographer and experienced journalist Kenji Nagai, 50 years old, was killed by Burmese forces — apparently deliberately targetted at close range — while reporting on anti-regime protests in the streets outside a Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar.]

The first report of Yamamoto’s death had emerged about six hours earlier, from a Tweet based on a Turkish news source or report:
News Monitor @habermonitoren – A Japanese journalist killed in Syria http://www.habermonitor.com/en/haber/detay/a-japanese-journalist-killed-in-syria/220914/

This was picked up by Al-Jazeera, then confirmed two hours later by the London-based group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights [described in the media as an “NGO”]:
Syrian Observatory ?@syriahr – Aleppo Province: A japanese journalist was severely wounded while covering the clashes in the Sleiman al-Halabi… http://fb.me/1h2cHnx3j

Both Agence France Presse [AFP] and Reuters put out short reports, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — and mentioning [but not showing] the 27-second video of Yamamoto’s body lying on a gurney in a medical setting, with Sato in shock, beside her.

Some hours later, Washington-based Radio Sawa [associated with Voice of America, VOA] anchor Zaid Benjamin sent out this Tweet: @zaidbenjamin – #BREAKING: Shabiha opened fire targeting journalists when they were escaping the building attacked by MiG – Liwa Asifat Alshamal Spokesman

@zaidbenjamin
#BREAKING: The Japaneses female journalist was with her husband when she was killed today – Liwa Asifat al-Shamal Spokesman #Syria #Assad

@zaidbenjamin
Video: Liwa Asifat al-Shamal (Brigade North Storm) handed over the corpse of a Japanese journalist in Bab al-Salama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuS2lVjDQag&feature=youtu.be …

Her body arrived in Turkey without delay, around 1 a.m. today [Tues 21 August 2012].