Frédéric Nérac (1960 – unknown, declared dead 21 October 2005) was a French

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, reported missing in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

since 22 March 2003. On 21 October 2005 he was officially declared dead in absentia, though no body has been found.

Background

Frédéric Nérac was covering the

Invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...

for the UK-based

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...

television network as an unembedded

, as opposed to journalists "embedded" with US or UK military units. On 22 March 2003, in Bassora, two ITN vehicles were captured in

crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. ...

between US and Iraqi forces. One of the vehicles, carrying

Terry Lloyd Terence Ellis "Terry" Lloyd (21 November 1952 – 22 March 2003) was an English television journalist who reported extensively from the Middle East. He was killed by the U.S. military while covering the 2003 invasion of Iraq for ITN. An inqu ...

and Daniel Demoustier, was destroyed. The second vehicle, carrying Nérac, apparently managed to escape to cover, and disappeared. British forces and French officials investigated the area; US authorities were reported to be unhelpful in the search. On 21 October 2005, Nérac was declared dead by the French

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. In 2006, citing an anonymous diplomatic source, Georges Malbrunot said that he believed that Nérac had been executed by Ba'athists and buried in the

Az Zubayr Az Zubayr () is a city in and the capital of Al-Zubayr District, part of the Basra Governorate of Iraq. The city is just south of Basra. The name is also sometimes written Al Zubayr, Al Zubair, Az Zubair, Zubair, Zoubair, El Zubair, or Zobier. ...

cemetery.

References

External links

Web site about the disappearance of Frédéric Nérac

Eighteen months after Fred Nérac went missing in Iraq, Reporters Without Borders urges the UK to hand its inquiry report to the family and French authorities
Reporters sans frontières.
Two Missing ITV Journalists Were Killed By US Troops
, by Tom Newton Dunn, ''The Mirror''.

1960 births 2000s missing person cases 2005 deaths French male non-fiction writers French reporters and correspondents Journalists killed while covering the Iraq War Missing person cases in Iraq People declared dead in absentia {{France-journalist-stub

Background

See also

References

External links