3 Spanish Journalists Missing in Syria and Feared Abducted
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Version 0 of 1. BAGHDAD — Three Spanish journalists have been missing for several days in northern Syria, according to a Spanish journalism organization, amid growing fears that they may have been abducted. The journalists, Antonio Pampliega, José Manuel López and Ángel Sastre, disappeared while working in the city of Aleppo, the president of the Federation of Press Associations of Spain has told Spanish National Television. Mr. Pampliega, a freelancer, had worked for Agence France-Presse and others in Syria. Mr. López is a photographer. Mr. Sastre has worked in television, radio and print journalism. All had experience in Syria and other war zones. Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and its industrial center before the war, is divided between insurgent and government zones and is the scene of daily shelling and battles, as well as bombardment with barrel bombs dropped by government helicopters. Spanish officials have been cautious in their public statements, telling the news media only that they are aware of the situation and are working on it. But several Syrians familiar with the incident have said that the journalists were seized more than a week ago by unknown gunmen who stopped their minivan. The men were said to be dressed in the Afghan- and Pakistani-style clothing that has become common among hard-line jihadist groups. Information about the incident is murky, with the Syrians afraid to give details, or identify themselves, for fear of reprisal. The disappearance comes as concerns grow about a fourth journalist, Jumpei Yasuda of Japan, who has been out of touch for nearly a month. He had been reporting in northern Syria and likewise has been reported by Syrian witnesses to have been kidnapped. Syria has become one of the most dangerous places in the world for foreign and local journalists alike. The Islamic State, the terrorist group also known as ISIS or ISIL, has kidnapped numerous journalists, releasing some for ransom and beheading others, like James Foley and Steven J. Sotloff. But while the group holds territory outside Aleppo, it has little presence inside the city, where the Spanish journalists had been working. There, a mix of other insurgent groups hold sway. Among them are the Nusra Front, the affiliate of Al Qaeda in Syria that has also kidnapped journalists, and a cluster of other groups that follow similar hard-line ideologies. Some, like Ahrar al-Sham, a mostly Syrian Islamist group that has worked closely with the Nusra Front, oppose the Islamic State and clash with it. Some smaller groups with many foreign members have maintained neutrality toward the Islamic State. There are also concerns among insurgents inside Aleppo about the Islamic State’s recruiting their members and establishing sleeper cells. There is also a flourishing industry of kidnapping for money, including by people willing to “sell” hostages to extremist groups. The Spanish journalists were traveling with a Syrian fixer last week from the Sayf al-Dawlieh district to the Maadi district in a white minibus, according to several Syrians and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group with extensive contacts. But details past that point differed to some degree. Ahrar al-Sham had offered to protect the journalists, according to several people with knowledge of their plans. A Syrian journalist who was traveling in Aleppo at the same time said the group’s fixer had coordinated with Ahrar al-Sham. Another Syrian familiar with the incident said that the fixer had refused an offer from an Ahrar al-Sham commander to provide escorts. He said that two other civilians in the minibus had later been released on the side of the road by the fighters, who said they would release the journalists after they completed a “security investigation.” An antigovernment activist in Aleppo who has contacts in many insurgent groups said that the Spaniards and the Japanese journalist were all in Aleppo, detained by a group called Liwa Mujahireen w’al Ansar, or the Immigrants and Supporters brigade, a group that has many foreign fighters. But another Syrian activist said that Mr. Yasuda, the Japanese journalist, had been seized by the Nusra Front in Idlib Province, and that he was later seen in the Nusra-controlled Christian village Yaqoubiyyeh. Both activists asked not to be named for their safety. Abu Omar al-Shimali, an antigovernment activist reached in Aleppo Province, said he was trying to check on the missing Spaniards. “The foreigners are not aware of the risk of being in Syria,” he lamented. “Why do they keep sending foreign reporters? Every foreign reporter entering Syria is being kidnapped.” |