Syria: Cameraman captures his own shooting by sniper

GlobalPost

A disturbing new online video emerged from Syria this weekend, apparently showing a cameraman getting shot by a sniper while his own camcorder captured the incident.

The shaky YouTube footage, which was first reported on by the Guardian, appears to be shot with a cellphone from a rooftop or balcony in the city of Homs.

The video begins with a voice track from the cameraman exclaiming that "someone [is] shooting at citizens in Karm al-Sham on 1 July without any reason and no demonstrations," the Guardian reports.

Several shots of gunfire can be heard in the video.

Within seconds, the camera zooms in on a man wearing a green outfit standing on the balcony of an adjacent building.

The man donned in green then fires what appears to be a rifle directly towards the camera.

The Guardian reports:

The cameraman is filming from an upper floor against a background of slogans being chanted. Jerky images of the street and balconies are followed by a blurred glimpse of a man in olive green, standing in the shadows, carefully moving forward and raising and firing a weapon – followed by a single shot, moaning, and distraught voices pleading for help.

After the blast, the camcorder drops to the ground and continues recording.

The Guardian could not independently verify the accuracy of the video. Syria's government has barred many foreign media outlets from entering the country to report on the months-long Arab Spring protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

Activists in Syria, however, have described the violence that took place in the central city of Homs over the weekend.

Syrian security forces killed at least two people and wounded 12 others in Homs on Friday, according to this report by GlobalPost's News Desk.

At least 1,300 people have been killed since the protests in Syria first began in March, according to human rights groups.

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