The West finally speaks out aganist the war in Syria

SYRIA - After the death of two European war journalists, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and the US have finally spoken out against the war in Syria. 

The UN estimates that 5,400 people have been killed in repression by the Assad regime against a popular uprising that began 11 months ago. That figure was given in January and has not been updated. Syrian activists put the death toll at more than 7,300. Around 15,000 people who opposed King Assad are being held in prisons across Syria. 

The deaths of Colvin and photographer Remi Ochlik were two of 74 reported Wednesday in Syria. Witnesses watched tens of people including babies and children been hit by shrapnel.

The two journalists were among a group who had crossed into Syria and were sharing accommodations with activists, raising speculation that government forces targeted the makeshift media center, although opposition groups had previously described the shelling as indiscriminate. At least two other Western journalists were wounded.  

The Syrian military appears to be stepping up assaults to block the opposition from gaining further ground and political credibility with the West and Arab allies. On Wednesday, helicopter gunships reportedly strafed mountain villages that shelter the rebel Free Syrian Army, and soldiers staged door-to-door raids in Damascus, among other attacks.

The bloodshed and crackdowns brought some of the most galvanizing calls for the end of Assad's rule. 

"That's enough now. The regime must go," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy after his government confirmed the deaths of Colvin, 56, and Ochlik, 28.

The US and other countries have begun to cautiously examine possible military aid to the rebels. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton heads to Tunisia for a meeting Friday of more than 70 nations to look at ways to assist Assad's opponents, which now include hundreds of defected military officers and soldiers.

"This tragic incident is another example of the shameless brutality of the Assad regime," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said of the killing of the journalists. 

In Saudi Arabia, Moscow, Russia stand in this conflict is crucial and the latest development has brought small but potentially significant shifts in US strategies. It remains unclear, however, what kind of direct assistance the US would be willing to provide.

The toppling of Assad also could mark a major blow to Iran, which depends on Damascus as its main Arab ally and a pathway to aid Iran's proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Military actions could contribute to the further militarization of Syria and that could take the country down a dangerous path, White House press secretary Jay Carney has said.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the killings of the journalists, calling them an "unacceptable escalation in the price that local and international journalists are being forced to pay" in Syria.

A statement by Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud said there was "no information" about Colvin, Ochlik and other foreign journalists in Syria who entered without official permission, the state-run news agency SANA reported. It warned all foreign journalists to come forward to "regularize their status." 

In London, British diplomats summoned Syria's ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, asking Syrian officials to facilitate immediate arrangements for the repatriation of the journalists' bodies and for help with the medical treatment of the British journalist injured in the attack.