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Syria crisis: Red Crescent official in Idlib shot dead | Syria crisis: Red Crescent official in Idlib shot dead |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent says its vice-president, Abdulrazak Jbeiro, has been shot dead. | |
The Red Crescent said he was killed as he drove from Damascus to Idlib - a focal point of the Syrian conflict. It condemned the killing. | The Red Crescent said he was killed as he drove from Damascus to Idlib - a focal point of the Syrian conflict. It condemned the killing. |
Across Syria, at least seven people were killed on Wednesday, said activists. | |
The Syrian army is reported to be on the second day of an offensive against insurgents in the central city of Hama. | |
The Syrian regime blames "terrorist gangs" - part of an international conspiracy against Syria - for unrest that has swept the country since mid-March 2011. | |
The UN says more than 5,000 people have died. | |
'Severe condemnation' | |
"[Mr Jbeiro] was shot. Circumstances are still unclear," Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, head of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) operations for the Near and Middle East, told Reuters news agency. | |
"Regardless of the circumstances, the ICRC condemns this very severely," she added. | "Regardless of the circumstances, the ICRC condemns this very severely," she added. |
"The lack of respect for medical services is still a great issue in Syria." | "The lack of respect for medical services is still a great issue in Syria." |
Anti-government activists the Local Co-ordination Committees blamed his death on "security forces", while Syrian state news agency Sana pointed the finger at "a terrorist group". | |
Sana said the shooting occurred in the Khan Shiekoun area. | Sana said the shooting occurred in the Khan Shiekoun area. |
"The group opened fire with a machine-gun, hitting him in the head. He was taken to hospital where he died," Sana reported, according to news agency AFP. | "The group opened fire with a machine-gun, hitting him in the head. He was taken to hospital where he died," Sana reported, according to news agency AFP. |
As well as being vice-president, Dr Jbeiro was the head official in the northern city of Idlib. | |
In addition to Mr Jbeiro, at least seven Syrians died on Wednesday, the LCC said - three in Damascus. | |
In Homs, a woman and her five-year-old child died when a shell hit their home during clashes between troops and men believed to be defecting soldiers. | |
Russian opposition | |
In Hama, at least two people died on the second day of a government bombardment, LCC said. | |
As the fighting in Syria continues, diplomats at the UN say European and Arab nations are meeting to try to draft a new UN resolution to address the crisis. | |
A previous attempt was stymied by Russia and China, and on Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was open to "constructive proposals" to end the violence. | |
But he reiterated his opposition to the use of force or sanctions. |