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Russian diplomats in Syria verifying reports on newswoman’s abduction

Ankhar Kochneva is not accredited with any media outlet and she works as a freelancer

CAIRO, October 12 (Itar-Tass) – Russian diplomats in Cairo are verifying reports on abduction of the Russian newswoman Ankhar Kochneva.

“We don’t have any concrete data on this issue at the moment,” Dmitry Lebedev, the chief of the Consulate Department of the Russian Embassy in Damascus told Itar-Tass.

“There’s no information on the abduction of any Russian citizens in Syria,” he said.

A number of mass media said earlier that Ankhar Kochneva, born in 1972, had disappeared near Homs. The last time she had a communications session was October 8.

Kochneva, who lives in Damascus and is broadly viewed as an expert on Syrian affairs, has been covering events in various parts of the conflict-torn Arab country. Her reports frequently exposed the crimes committed by the Syrian armed opposition who draw on amassed overt backing from abroad.

Ankhar Kochneva is not accredited with any media outlet and she works as a freelancer.