Beirut: A press freedom group said on Thursday that Syrian security agents have detained a journalist from Lebanon.

Palestinian Helmi Moussa is the Israeli affairs editor for the As Safir newspaper and was in Syria for a conference.

The Beirut-based Skeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom said he was detained Sunday. The group gave no details about why.

The press freedom group said Moussa writes about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was jailed in the past by Israel.

The group on Thursday demanded his immediate release.

As Safir declined to comment, and Syrian authorities do not speak publicly about such detentions.