A Canadian photojournalist and activist has died while covering the civil war in Syria. Ali Mustafa and six others were killed Sunday in a Syrian government airstrike on the northern town of Aleppo. Mustafa’s photographs of the Syrian conflict captured the plight of besieged civilians. In an interview with Canada’s CTV News Channel after his first trip to cover the Syrian conflict last year, Ali Mustafa discussed his attempt to document Syria’s suffering.

Ali Mustafa: “As a journalist, I think it was important to be there to tell the story as it was emerging as one of the major developing issues right now, and as well as being a natural outgrowth of some of my other work in the region, having visited previously. … You basically just have to do as best you can to be aware of your surroundings and try to stay safe, and capture as many quality photos as you can under those circumstances.”

In addition to his photojournalism abroad, Ali Mustafa was also a dedicated activist in his home city of Toronto, focusing on issues of poverty and the treatment of prisoners detained without charge under so-called “security certificates.” More than 100 people honored Mustafa’s life at a vigil in Toronto on Sunday.