>>>
good evening. the pictures coming out of
syria
are hard to watch. they're also hard to look away from. there are bona fide atrocities going on there. while this type of violence is abhorrent, we have seen this before in this region in just the last few months. a well-equipped military is firing on civilians and trying to crush an uprising. they're firing on their own people and the world is now watching. among the civilian deaths, an
american woman
who had been in
syria
trying to get that story out. our own chief foreign correspondent
richard engel
is on the syrian border in turkey tonight and starts us off from there.
richard
, good evening.
>> reporter:
good evening, brian. today's violence showed the intensity of the syrian government's crackdown on the city of
homs
and its indiscriminate shelling of civilian area. even if you listen closely, it's hard to hear a single peaceful moment in
homs
. syrian troops ringing the city with fire rockets and machine guns to drive out a few hundred opposition forces. the blogger who took this video can be heard praying for his life. he was killed a few hours later. this morning, more voices were silenced. this rubble was a rudimentary
media center
in
homs
run by the syrian opposition who barely hold a few pockets in the city. the building took a direct hit. inside killed as they were working, french rafr remi ochlik and veteran
american war
correspondent marie
colvin
who reported for the british newspaper "the sunday times."
colvin
provided the bbc with some of the most vivid accounts of the brutality. hearing her now is haunting hours before her death.
>>
there were shells, rockets coming in hitting any building. i have not seen one military target. they're similarly all firing. the wounded and dead i've seen 80% civilians. it is shelling with impunity and a merciless disregard for the civilians who simply cannot escape.
>> reporter:
colvin
was no stranger to the cost of this unforgiving business of war reporting. she lost an eye to shrapnel in
sri lanka
. widely considered one of the greatest reporters of her generation, she was featured in a documentary about women on the
front line
. in
homs
there were no
front lines
, nowhere safe.
>>
there is a small clinic. you can't really call it a clinic. it's an apartment that has been turned into a clinic. you have plasma bags hanging from coat hangers. i watched a little baby die today, absolutely horrific. the doctor said i can't do anything and that is happening
over and over
and over. no one here can understand how the
international community
can let this happen.
>> reporter:
today in
oyster bay
, new york,
colvin
's mother learned about her daughter's last dangerous assignment.
>>
terrible. you're never ready for it. all these years and all this time i was never ready for it.
>> reporter:
a daughter, a reporter whose work meant everything.
>>
you know, it still matters to me. when it stops mattering to me, i'll stop doing it.
>> reporter:
and brian, there are still 30,000 people in the city of
homs
low on food, low on supplies and under attack. even where we are on the syrian border with turkey, we can still hear the shelling tonight inside
syria
.
>>
richard engel
, be safe in your travels.
richard
with is tonight again from the syrian/turkey border.
richard
, thanks for your reporting.
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