A French photojournalist and an American working for a British newspaper were killed on Wednesday by Syrian Government shelling of the Opposition stronghold of Homs, France’s Government said. Activists said at least two other Western journalists were injured in barrages that claimed at least 19 lives.

In Paris, French Government spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse said those killed were French photojournalist Remi Ochlik and American veteran war reporter Marie Colvin, who was working for Britain’s Sunday Times. France’s Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, said the attacks show the “increasingly intolerable repression” by Syrian forces.

The Syrian military has redoubled its attacks on Homs in the past few days, aiming to retake neighbourhoods that have come under control of the opposition and armed rebels —many of them military defectors. The seizure of territory and nearly daily clashes between the rebels and regime forces have pushed Syria to the brink of all-out civil war.

The Obama administration opened the door slightly on Tuesday to international military assistance for Syria’s rebels, with officials saying new tactics may have to be explored if President Bashar Assad continues to defy pressure to halt a brutal crackdown on dissenters that has raged for 11 months and killed thousands.

The White House and State Department said they still hope for a political solution. But faced with the daily onslaught by the Assad regime against Syrian civilians, officials dropped the administration’s previous strident opposition to arming anti-regime forces. It remained unclear, though, what, if any, role the US might play in providing such aid.

AP