WILAYAH NEWS VOICE OF THE GLOBAL AWAKENING
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Al-Manar television crew came under gunfire Monday during its coverage of the Syrian army’s recapture of the Christian town of Maalula from the terrorist hands, which resulted in the martyrdom of the reporter Hamza al-Hajj Hassan along with a cameraman and a technician.
Al-Manar said 27-year-old Hajj Hassan and his two colleagues – cameraman Mohammed Mantash and technician Halim Allaw – were martyred when armed groups opened fire at their convoy in Maalula.
Two other members of the crew were wounded in the attack, al-Manar added.
The attack happened despite the fact that the cars of its team were clearly marked with press signs.
“With the bless of the martyrs’ blood and the vigor of heroic fighters, we will sleep tonight at the al-Safir Hotel in Maalula,” Hajj Hassan wrote on his Facebook page hours before his martyrdom on Monday.
Al-Manar General Manager Ibrahim Farhat mourned the slain crew during a press conference, stressing that the TV network will continue its coverage of the conflict in Syria regardless of the sacrifices.
Earlier on Monday, Syrian troops retook the ancient Christian town of Maalula from the armed groups hands.
Hasan Hamzah, Hajj Hasan’s colleague at al-Manar, said he would miss him the most, as the two were very close to each other. “We sat next to each other in the newsroom and shared lots of things, we used the same telephone … and we shared the same lockers,” Hamzah said. “Just today, I wore his shirt and I am still wearing it right now.”
Hamzah said that Hajj Hasan knew he was heading to dangerous places. “He was perseverant and knew what he wanted. His life has ended today … his death is a loss, but he is one of a series of al-Manar martyrs, I congratulate him,” Hamzah added.
Lebanese officials condemned the killing.
“The assassination of members of media is a coward act,” President Michel Suleiman tweeted.
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun extended his condolences to al-Manar. “We are all blessed by the martyrdom of the martyrs … and we share the pains of their families,” Aoun said.
Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, from Speaker Nabih Berri, paid his respects to al-Manar, hailing the job of the station’s staff as “heroic.”
Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Ghadanfar Roknabadi strongly condemned the attack.
