Bellou, a cameraman with the opposition news agency Shahba Press
and editor of opposition station Shahba TV, was shot by a sniper while he
was covering clashes between the Syrian army and the rebels in the Lairmoon
district of Aleppo, according to the agency
and the Syrian
Journalists Association.
Ma’moun Abu Amr, editor-in-chief of Shahba Press, told CPJ
that Bellou, who was accompanying the rebels, was killed instantly. Bellou was also
known as Mohamed al-Endany among his friends and colleagues.
Abu Amr told CPJ that Bellou covered clashes for Shahba Press
and managed its YouTube channel, which had more than 2,000 subscribers and
800,000 page views. Shahba Press
publishes news coverage
of local issues, including food shortages and clashes between the rebels and
the Syrian army.
Shahba Press also publishes a weekly magazine called Free Syria, which is printed in Turkey
and distributed in the northern areas.