PARIS - French reporters organization, Reporters Without Borders, on Tuesday expressed alarm at the news that three Romanian journalists had gone missing and were presumed kidnapped in Iraq.
"We are very worried. The information concerning the disappearance or kidnapping in Iraq are to be taken very seriously," the French body said.
The latest case involves three Romanian journalists who went missing in the suburbs of Baghdad on March 28.
Reporters Without Borders called for mobilization to help find the Romanians and recalled that at least 17 journalists have been kidnapped in Iraq since March 2003, when the coalition forces entered Iraq to oust the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
A number of these press workers - both foreigners and Iraqis - were killed by Iraqi renegades and some are still missing, including a French woman reporter, Florence Aubenas.
The latest Romanian crew to disappear had just interviewed Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and they had also been in the company of Romanian diplomats.
Their lives could be at risk as Romania is one of many countries that support the US Coalition in Iraq.
KUNA