The Union of Syrian Journalists has announced that at least 153 journalists and media activists have been killed in the two-year old revolution in the country. A union spokesman told Al-Arabia TV that it has been keeping track of deaths among media professionals since the conflict began in 2011.
Fifteen journalists were killed in March alone, said the union. Ten of those killed were in Damascus and its surrounding area, three were in Daraa and two were in Homs.
UN figures show that around 70,000 men, women and children have been killed in Syria since 2011. One million have fled the country and millions more are internally displaced and in urgent need of food aid.
The revolution began with peaceful demonstrations against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad which were met with a violent response from the authorities.