EU delegation member killed in Syria

PanARMENIAN.Net - A member of the European Union's delegation in Syria has been killed in a rocket attack in a Damascus suburb, BBC News reported.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Ahmad Shihadeh, an EU policy officer, was killed in Darayya, to the south-west of the capital.

He lived in the area and was killed while providing humanitarian help to the community, she said in a statement. She did not say who the EU believed was responsible for Mr Shihadeh's death, which happened on Tuesday, March 12.

The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), an opposition activist network, said that two surface-to-surface missiles had landed in Darayya on Tuesday night. It said the town had also come under fierce artillery and rocket fire from government forces on Wednesday, and that army reinforcements were being deployed from the nearby Mezzeh military airport.

Darayya has been a hotbed of unrest since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began two years ago.

In her statement Ms Ashton said: "I offer my sincere condolences to [Mr Shihadeh's] family and friends, and to the colleagues of the delegation.

"Ahmad died while providing humanitarian help to the community of Darayya. Ahmad was known for his courage and selflessness."