Colombia’s controversial journalist, William Parra, was injured in Syria on Saturday when he was shot by mercenaries.Journalist William Parra came under fire by mercenary sniper rifles while on a special envoy this past Saturday in Hasrasta, the northern entrance of Damascus, the capital city of Syria.
Parra was shot in the leg and his camera man, William Moreno captured the violence on film. The two were in the presence of “continuous shooting” even though they were identified as journalists, and were eventually rescued by a Syrian Army detachment five hours after the shooting began according to news outlet EFE.
Parra has been reporting on ongoing conflicts and a civil war occurring in Syria for the Venezuelan news network, Telesur.
Telesur first reported the story late Monday.
William Parra is a well-known and controversial journalist in Colombia due in small part to his employment at Caracol Radio, at Reuters and as the press-secretary for former Colombian President, Ernesto Samper, and in large part to his alleged connections with the rebel group, FARC, which led him to seek political asylum in Venezuela. He claims to have received many death threats in the 2000’s and was attacked in Bogota in 2005.
Sources
- Periodista colombiano William Parra grabó el momento en que fue herido en Siria (Blu Radio)
- El periodista colombiano William Parra fue herido en Siria por ‘mercenarios’ (CM&)
- Colombian journalist wanted for rebel ties (CNN)
