NY Times journalists missing in Libya

Four New York Times journalists covering the fighting in Libya were reported missing yesterday, and the newspaper held out hope that they were alive and in the custody of the Libyan government.

Editors last heard from the four on Tuesday as they were covering the retreat of rebels from the town of Ajdabiya, and Libyan officials told the newspaper they were trying to locate them, executive editor Bill Keller said in a statement. The Times said there were unconfirmed reports that Libyan forces had detained the foursome.

"We are grateful to the Libyan government for their assurance that if our journalists were captured they would be released promptly and unharmed," Keller said.

The missing journalists are Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony Shadid, the newspaper's Beirut bureau chief; Stephen Farrell, a reporter and videographer; and photographers Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario. Farrell was kidnapped by the Taliban in 2009 and rescued later by British commandos.

The White House urged the Libyan government Wednesday to refrain from harassing or using violence against journalists. Obama spokesman Jay Carney said the United States is firm in its belief that journalists should be protected and allowed to do their work.

"It's a very dangerous climate for reporters right now," said Clothilde Le Coz, Washington director for the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. "It's a reminder that these are real people, and they are putting themselves at real risk to bring information out of these places."

Pro-Gadhafi forces have largely gained control of Ajdabiya after two days of relentless shelling but still face pockets of resistance in the city of 140,000 people. The breakdown in rebel defenses in Ajdabiya threatened to open the gateway to the long stretch of eastern Libya that has been in the control of the opposition, including Benghazi.

Gadhafi's warplanes bombed a military airport in Benghazi yesterday, the first assault on the eastern rebel stronghold since the rebellion began one month ago.

-- AP, with Los Angeles Times