PARIS: Olivier Voisin listed work in 15 countries, half of them war zones. He described the rush of bearing witness to a conflict that otherwise could go unrecorded.

On Sunday, the 38-year-old French freelance photographer became the 23rd journalist killed in fighting in Syria after he died of shrapnel wounds sustained days earlier.

Christophe Deloire, head of Reporters Without Borders, said freelance photographers covering the conflict in Syria do so to bear witness, even without knowing where their next paycheck will come from.

"In the last letter (Voisin) wrote, he talked about the adrenaline, and never knowing if he was going to be able to sell his photos," Deloire said Monday.

Voisin's website listed Syria, Libya, Somalia and Haiti among 15 countries where he'd worked, and noted his dedication to images of war and poverty.

After he was wounded by shrapnel Thursday in Syria's northern Idlib province, he was driven across the border to Turkey, where he died in a hospital, RSF said.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also honored Voisin on Monday, saying that "France reiterates its dedication to freedom of the press as well as the freedom to report from everywhere in the world, particularly in Syria."

In addition to 23 professional journalists, 54 citizen-journalists have died in Syria.