Syria Frees Reuters Journalists

Plus: US citizens detained; security forces fire on protesters

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 28, 2011 10:44 AM CDT

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Syria Protests: Two Journalists Missing; Two US Citizens Detained; Security Forces Fire on Protesters — Syrian army soldiers, right, stand guard next to a shop that was burned during a violence between security forces and armed groups in Latakia, northwest of Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, March 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Two journalist who went missing in Syria Saturday night have been released by Syrian authorities. The Beirut-based producer and cameraman work for Reuters television and traveled to Syria Thursday to cover the ongoing protests. An official says they were detained because they were filming "in an area where filming is not permitted," and did not have a work permit. They have now been returned to Lebanon and say they are doing well, Reuters reports.

Two US citizens have also been detained in Syria, the Los Angeles Times notes. One, a man with both Egyptian and American citizenship, was arrested for selling videos and photos of events in the country and for secretly visiting Israel. Another, a 21-year-old studying Arabic in Damascus, was taken into custody during a protest. Reuters also reports that Syrian security forces today fired on hundreds of demonstrators. Click for more on Syria.
(More Syria stories.)

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