Al-Shaam is a news network founded and run by a group of Syrian media activists. The network depends on footage and information provided by a wide number of citizen journalists spread across the country.

On 28 May, Damascus-born film-maker and citizen journalist Bassel Al-Shahade and his assistant, Ahmed Al-Assam were killed while covering the events in Bab El-Sebea, Homs.

Al –Shahade was a Fulbright Scholar pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Film at the College of Visual and Performing Arts, University of Syracuse. The film-maker returned to cover events in his home country in the spring of 2011, and had previously been detained  by the Syrian authorities. He also trained fellow activists and citizen journalists, including his assistant Ahmed Al-Assam, on how to film and edit video footage .

Friends, colleagues and activists  alike mourned the death of young Bassel Al-Shahade across the world, with memorials in Cairo, Budapest and elsewhere. The Chancellor of the University of Syracuse also released a statement concerning his death. 

Sources: New York Times, SKeyes