US seeks release of its journalists detained in Libya

By IANS,

Washington : The US was doing “quite a lot” to seek the release of several American journalists detained in Libya, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.


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Toner, however, refused to get into details of the efforts, citing “the sensitivity of the issue”, Xinhua reported.

“But we’re obviously very much aware of their cases, and are doing our utmost to convey to the Libyan authorities that these are innocent journalists and they should be released immediately on humanitarian grounds,” Toner told reporters.

James Foley, a correspondent from Global Post, and Clare Morgana Gillis, a journalist working for The Atlantic and USA Today, were captured April 5 while reporting near Brega, a key oil town in eastern Libya. They have not been heard from since.

Earlier, four New York Times journalists were captured in Libya while covering the conflict. The government freed them a few days later.

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