DAMASCUS: Two young US journalists who went missing in Lebanon a week ago were detained in Syria yesterday for entering the country illegally, the Foreign Ministry said.
“The Syrian authorities arrested two American nationals — Holli Chmela and Taylor Luck — because they illegally entered Syrian territory this morning with the help of a smuggler,” a ministry statement said.
“The security services are now interrogating them to find out how they entered without the necessary visas. The two American nationals will be turned over to the United States Embassy in Damascus after the necessary procedures are completed.” The statement said US charge d’affaires Maura Connelly had been called in to be briefed on the situation.
An embassy statement said the “Syrian government has informed us that they detained two American citizens as they tried to cross into Syria. We are working with the Syrian government now to confirm they are Luck and Miss Chmela and to gain access to them. For Privacy Act reasons we cannot say more about this case at this time.” In Washington, State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood said “we are greatly relieved that the two are safe.” Wood, reading from a statement, said the US Embassy in Damascus was seeking consular access to the pair.
“The Syrian government has confirmed to our embassy in Damascus that two Americans detained while attempting to cross into Syria are Miss Chmela and Luck, the subject of an extensive search by the US and Lebanese governments,” he said.
“The US embassies in Beirut and Damascus, in coordination with department officials, in Washington worked actively to pursue all possible leads in our efforts to locate Miss Chmela and Luck as soon as they were reported missing,” he said. Luck, 23, and Chmela, 27, had been on holiday when they dropped out of sight.
