Jobar Media Center
March 3, 2013, in Damascus, Syria

Amira was killed by sniper fire while covering clashes near the Damascus suburb of Abaseen, according to Shaam News Network and the local press freedom group Syrian Journalists Association who confirmed the death via email. Several opposition groups said Amira was killed by a pro-Assad sniper, but did not offer further details.

Amira, who was known locally as "Abu Omar," documented clashes and protests for the Jobar Media Center, a group of opposition citizen journalists who film clashes in the neighborhood of Jobar and publish the unattributed videos online, according to the reports.

The Jobar Media Center posted a YouTube video that it said was taken on the day Amira died and was the last footage the journalist filmed. In the video, Amira repeatedly says "God is great" as shells explode all around him in Jobar.

The Jobar Media Center has published hundreds of videos since it established its YouTube account in January 2012. Similar media centers have sprung up all across Syria as citizen journalists and opposition activists document how the unrest has affected their communities. The Jobar Media Center's videos have been broadcast by several local and international news outlets, including the New York Times, NPR, the Jerusalem Post, and Haaretz.

The documentation provided by citizen journalists has been crucial in the international understanding of the Syrian conflict because of extreme government restrictions and danger that prevent widespread news media coverage.

Footage released by Jobar Media Center shows Amira in a burial shroud lying next to a video camera.

Medium:Internet
Job:Camera Operator, Photographer
Beats Covered:Human Rights, Politics, War
Gender:Male
Local or Foreign:Local
Freelance:Yes
Type of Death:Crossfire/Combat-Related
Suspected Source of Fire:Military Officials

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