French journalist pleads for exit from Syria

A French journalist wounded in shelling in Syria, that killed two other Western journalists, is pleading for an evacuation from the besieged city of Homs to Lebanon.

In a video posted on YouTube, Edith Bouvier, a reporter for Le Figaro, said her leg is broken in two places and needs as critical operation.

Bouvier said while she has received some medical treatment, "they cannot perform surgery, so I need a ceasefire to be imposed as soon as possible."

Bouvier spoke calmly as she laid in bed, and even smiled throughout the 6-and-a-half minute video. She was wounded in an attack Wednesday on the opposition stronghold, which killed American war correspondent Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik.

Syria regime tanks reportedly enter Homs
American, French journalists killed in Syria
Marie Colvin focused reporting on women, children

Colvin and Ochlik were among a group of journalists who had crossed into Syria illegally and were sharing accommodations with activists, raising speculation that government forces targeted the makeshift media center where they were staying.

But opposition groups had previously described the shelling as indiscriminate.

Negotiations continue to try to get the bodies of Colvin and Ochlik out of the country, as well as Bouvier and her two wounded colleagues, reports CBS News correspondent Clarissa Ward.

A Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman offered condolences to the families of Colvin and Ochlik but rejected any responsibility for their deaths. The spokesman urged foreign journalists to respect Syrian laws and not to sneak into the country.

Along with Bouvier, her colleague William Daniels and her doctor appear in the video. They confirm Bouvier is being treated well but they need to leave soon. Daniels also added food is running low and they have no electricity.

The activists said intense barrages Thursday hit residential districts in Baba Amr neighborhood. There was no immediate word on casualties.

"Tanks have entered the Jobar area in the south of Baba Amr," said activist Abu Imad, according to the Reuters news agency, which said he contacted them from inside the besieged city.

Hundreds of people have died in nearly three weeks of siege-style attacks on Homs, Syria's third-largest city.

Dwindling supplies of food, water and medicine also are taking their toll not only on the journalists but also on thousands of civilians. Babies are being fed sugar and water because there is no formula left and new mothers are too traumatized to produce milk, Ward reports.