UPDATE 15:37 28/02/11: France’s President Sarkozy has said that Le Figaro correspondent Edith Bouvier has escaped Homs and is in Lebanon. This has not been fully confirmed.

The Sunday Times has confirmed that British photographer Paul Conroy has escaped from the besieged city of Homs in Syria. Conroy, who was injured in the attack that killed war Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin and French journalist Remi Ochlik was smuggled out of the city by anti-government accidents and is now in Lebanon. There have been reports that several activists were killed by government forces during the escape. Several media workers remain trapped in Homs. The Syrian army’s elite 4th armoured division is reported to have been deployed to Homs, prompting fears of a further escalation of the government assault on the city.