Jumaa, a photographer and video journalist, was killed by Syrian government artillery fire while reporting on the rescue of civilians after a bombardment in the Aleppo district of Al-Mashad, his employer told CPJ.
Jumaa, 20, was traveling in an ambulance to the site of the attack, when the vehicle he was in was hit by artillery fire and he was injured, according to a statement from his outlet, Images Live. Abdul Aziz Sharha, a paramedic, was treating Jumaa when a second round of artillery fire struck the ambulance and both men died, according to the statement. The Syrian government did not publicly comment on the incident, but opposition outlets reported on the government strikes that day and local news reports said an ambulance was hit.
Jumaa was an employee of the photo agency Images Live, an offshoot of the U.K.-based parent company International Photo Media. Medyan Dairieh, the company’s founder and a producer at Images Live, told CPJ Jumaa was being trained by International Photo Media in journalism, photography, and filmmaking in Turkey. He was due to begin work full-time at the Images Live/International Photo Media office in Turkey after his training was complete.
Jumaa first worked for Images Live in spring 2015 in Idlib, covering the work of the Syrian Civil Defense, a volunteer first-responder organization that helps rescue trapped civilians. He moved to Turkey for training and returned to Syria in May 2016. Three days before his death, Jumaa covered clashes in the Al-Ameria area of Aleppo for the agency.
The monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and residents documented nearly 50 government and Russian aerial attacks on Aleppo on June 5, in which at least 16 civilians were killed. The bombardments came as the Syrian government stepped up its attempts to wrest control of the city from rebel groups.
In its statement, International Photo Media described Jumaa as an “extremely brave, independent, impartial young journalist with deep integrity and great humanity.”