Minister Daouk denounces kidnapping of Sky News crew, calls for their release

Caretaker Minister of Information Walid Daouk denounced on Friday the kidnapping incident of Sky News Arabia cameraman Samir Kassab along with other reporters from the Abu Dhabi-based channel in the contested city of Aleppo in northern Syria.           

In this regard, Minister Daouk stressed the importance of exerting efforts to release the detainees, emphasizing that the concept of kidnapping contradicts with basic human rights.                     

Daouk noted that officials should intensify their contacts to reveal the fate of Kassab as well as other reporters, urging them to put forth efforts to release them at the soonest time possible.                        

A team of reporters from Sky News Arabia went missing in the contested city of Aleppo in northern Syria, the Abu Dhabi-based channel said Thursday.
                  
Sky News Arabia said it lost contact on Tuesday, October 15 with reporter Ishak Moctar, a Mauritanian national, cameraman Samir Kassab, a Lebanese national, as well as their Syrian driver whose name is being withheld at his family's request.                             

Sky News Arabia chief Nart Bouran said the crew was on assignment primarily to focus on the humanitarian aspects of the conflict in Aleppo. The channel appealed for any information on the team's whereabouts and for help to ensure the journalists' safe return.         

Sky News Arabia said it was in contact with the journalists' families to update them on the latest developments and efforts to reach them.      

Syria is the most dangerous place in the world for journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists says, with at least 39 killed and 21 kidnapped in 2012 by both rebels and government forces.              

Most kidnapped journalists have been released, but several remain missing.