Mahmoud, a contributor
to the local news website Basma
Syria (Syria’s Fingerprint), was killed by sniper fire while
filming clashes between rebel forces and armed members of the Kurdish
Democratic Union Party, or PYD, in Ras al-Ain in Al-Hasakah province near the
Turkish border, according to the news outlet and local press
reports. Mahmoud had covered the Syrian uprising primarily from the
northeastern city of Qamishli near the Turkish border.
The Syrian
opposition had accused the PYD, which is affiliated with the Kurdistan Worker’s
Party, or PKK, of working as President Bashar al-Assad’s agents in Kurdish
areas of Syria, according to news
reports. Government forces had pulled out of the Kurdish areas of Al-Hasakah
and Aleppo provinces, leaving control to the PYD, news reports said.
Basma
Syria was formed by citizen journalists in July 2012 to cover the uprising
and its effect on civilian life. The news website featured video reports,
written reports, and photos from around the country. Mahmoud, 19, worked as its
correspondent in Qamishli reporting on demonstrations and clashes there,
providing both footage and news reports. Born in 1993, Mahmoud was also a student in computer
engineering.