Sixteen journalists have been reported missing or detained by government authorities in the civil war-torn nation of Libya.
Three Americans are listed among the 16, according to a list released Tuesday by the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Associated Press.
Journalists note that it has been extremely difficult to accurately report events in Libya due to the security situation in the North African country. Forces loyal to dictator Muammar Qaddafi make extensive efforts to prevent outside media coverage of events inside Libya.
On April 5, government forces took three Americans, among others, into custody.
James Foley is a photojournalist working for the Boston-based GlobalPost news agency. He spoke with his mother in New Hampshire for the first time by phone on Saturday. Foley said he was uninjured and being treated well.
Clare Morgana Gillis has been covering the war for The Atlantic and USA Today. She has called her parents in New Haven, CT twice since Thursday. Gillis, too, said she is being treated well. She is being held in a women's jail in Tripoli.
Matthew VanDyke is a freelance journalist. His last contact with his family was on March 12. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, his mother said she received a GPS tracking email the next day that had placed him in the Brega area.
In addition to the Americans, Libyan forces also detained journalists who are British nationals, and citizens of Spain, Austria, South Africa, and Libya.
Two drivers and a British journalist are unaccounted for, as are six Libyan journalists.