French journalist killed in Syria

Damascus, Syria (CNN) — A French journalist died Wednesday in a mortar strike on a pro-government rally in Homs, the Syrian city that has become the symbol of grass-roots resistance against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The violence comes as international journalists and Arab League monitors viewed the tumult rippling across restive cities. A journalist who witnessed the incident told CNN that a civilian also died in the strike. A Dutch journalist and nine civilians were injured.

The dead journalist is Gilles Jacquier of the France 2 TV network, the network confirmed. There are different casualty figures filtering out of Homs. France 2 also said seven people died in the same place. Jacquier’s cameraman was lightly injured, France 2 said. It said they were there as part of a trip authorized by the government.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe expressed his condolences and condemned the “heinous act.”

“We are asking for an inquiry to be launched to shed all light on the circumstances of this tragedy,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.