Journalists held for 10 months in Syria reunited with families

Four French journalists taken hostage in Syria were reunited with family and colleagues yesterday in an emotional homecoming after 10 months in captivity during which they were chained together and held in dingy basements.

Looking thin and tired but overjoyed, the men hugged relatives and colleagues waiting at an air base southwest of Paris where they flew in early yesterday from Turkey.

“It was a long haul, but we never lost hope,” said radio reporter Didier Francois, who, like the rest of the group, had shaved the long beard he grew in captivity before the reunion at the Villacoublay base.