View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

Concern is growing for Channel 4 News journalist Waad Al Kateab as regime forces close in on Aleppo

By Freddy Mayhew

Concern for Channel 4 News journalist Waad Al Kateab has grown as regime and Russian forces close in on rebel-held Aleppo where the pregnant mother-of-one is currently trapped.

She is understood to be sheltering with a group of doctors and nurses, including her husband and 11-month-old daughter, as Assad forces close in on all sides.

“We are hugely concerned for her wellbeing and those of the doctors and nurses that she is with,” said a Channel 4 News spokesperson.

Kateab, who was born in Syria and studied at Aleppo University, has worked for the channel since January.

Her reports showing life in the besieged city of Aleppo have won her acclaim, including the prize for Foreign Affairs Journalism at this week’s British Journalism Awards.

They have also caught the attention of the Syrian government, particularly as snippets of her reports that are dispatched to Channel 4 News can be viewed and shared multiple times on Facebook.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

“Waad is one of the most courageous filmmakers we have ever worked with at Channel 4 News,” said a spokesperson.

“She is dedicated to telling the story of Syria’s destruction and has been doing so at great personal risk.”

The programme’s foreign editor Mavine Mabro told Press Gazette that a hospital where Kateab was staying on Saturday had fallen into regime hands by Sunday, such was the pace of the siege.

Mabro said she had exchanged messages with Kateab and that she had seemed “very scared” yesterday but was “a little more upbeat” today.

Her message yesterday read: “I am trapped in Aleppo filming and recording what is happening with a group of 30 doctors and medical staff.

“I still have hope but we feel no one is listening or doing anything to save us. I spend my evenings hugging my baby daughter who is terrified by the noise as the bombs fall.

“At night I dream of my perished city Aleppo. All its people are asking you to remember your humanity. If you are listening, please help.”

Mabro said the best outcome for Kateab would be for the government to agree on a safe passage out of the city for its remaining civilian citizens where she could reach an organisation like the United Nations.

Earlier this month, Channel 4 journalist Krishnan Guru-Murphy was allowed access into Syria by its government for a series of special reports.

Speaking at the British Journalism Awards on Tuesday night, Channel 4 News editor Ben De Pear said: “We are desperately worried about Waad. We appeal to the Syrian government to show mercy to the civilians and the journalists out there.”

 

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network