The head of the United Nations observer mission in Syria on Monday condemned attacks on the media in the conflict-torn country

The head of the United Nations observer mission in Syria on Monday condemned attacks on the media in the conflict-torn country, following the murder of a state journalist at the weekend.
  
"Whatever the country, the UN is committed to the freedom of the press and the media," General Babacar Gaye told reporters in Damascus. "In this country, the press has a tremendous role to play, so we condemn any violence on the media coming from any side," he said.
  
The official SANA news agency said that the head of its home news department, Abbas Ali, was assassinated by an "armed terrorist group" at his home in Jdaidet Artuz outside the capital on Saturday.
  
And on Friday, insurgents abducted three state television journalists as they accompanied government troops operating near Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
  
A bomb attack on state television headquarters wounded several people last week and an Al-Qaeda linked group claimed the abduction and murder earlier this month of state television presenter Mohammed al-Saeed.

The UN Security Council is due to meet on Thursday to discuss the future of the mission, whose mandate expires on August 19.