Activists Say Turkish Journalists Missing Syria are Alive

Two Turkish journalists who have been missing in Syria for about two weeks are safe, according to an Islamic charity which said Saturday it was in negotiations to secure their return home.

"We are certain that they are alive and in good health," Bulent Yildirim, head of the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, told the Anatolia news agency.

Yildirim said he was holding discussions with unidentified interlocutors about freelance cameraman Hamit Coskun and reporter Adem Ozkose who were both working for the Milat newspaper, and that he expected a resolution soon.

"I am sorry this has taken so long. I appeal to the families of our journalists to wait patiently for their return," he said.

The pair had travelled to Idlib near the Turkish border earlier this month to cover the deadly violence rocking Syria and were reportedly handed over to Syrian intelligence by a pro-regime militia last week.

The Anatolia news agency said Coskun had been tortured.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said last week that the government was working round the clock to find the journalists and bring them back to Turkey.

Ankara has urged thousands of Turkish nationals to leave Syria where a bloody crackdown by President Bashar Assad's regime on opposition protesters has killed over 9,100 people, according to monitors.

IHH (Insani Yardim Vakfi) is a relief foundation close to the conservative Islamist-rooted government and has organized aid for Syrian refugees who have fled the bloodshed in their country for Turkey and Lebanon.