Two Turkish journalists have disappeared in Syria, announced representatives from Milat newspaper, who requested assistance from the Turkish government to locate them. The newspaper said in a brief statement that it had not heard from them for five days.
Both men called the newspaper on March 9 and said they were in the city of Idleb, in the northwest of Syria, which has since been taken over by the Syrian army, the statement added.
"We expect an urgent statement from the Syrian authorities," said Milat. The Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the press that his ministry was making "massive efforts" to locate the missing journalists. "The humanitarian situation is deteriorating in Syria," he added.
Meanwhile, spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jihad Makdessi, said on Wednesday that Damascus responded positively to the proposals of Kofi Annan, the UN and the Arab League envoy to Syria.
"The tone of our response was positive," Makdessi told reporters in Damascus. Syria has provided "clarifications" on the implementation of certain proposals, he added. Spokesperson for Kofi Annan had said earlier that the envoy had received a response from Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, adding that questions remain and that clarification would be needed.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan met twice this weekend with Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. He also met with opposition, members of the Syrian National Council in Turkey.
