The US journalist is believed to be amongst 135,000 individuals detained or disappeared by Syrian authorities throughout struggle.
The US has renewed its efforts to find lacking journalist Austin Tice in Syria within the quick aftermath of the toppling of the nation’s longtime chief Bashar al-Assad in a shock offensive.
Only a day after opposition fighters led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group took management of Damascus, White Home Nationwide Safety Adviser Jake Sullivan stated on Monday that discovering Tice is a “high precedence”.
Additionally on Monday, the FBI reupped a $1m reward for “info that results in Austin’s protected return”.
Sullivan stated with al-Assad having fled the nation and his regime collapsed, Washington is looking for to “find the jail the place [Tice] could also be held, get him out, get him residence safely to his household”.
Tice has been lacking since 2012 when he was kidnapped in Damascus whereas reporting on the favored rebellion in opposition to al-Assad. Efforts to find the previous US marine, who was working as a contract journalist on the time of his disappearance, have been fruitless because the bloody struggle stretched on.
US officers had been speaking with Turkiye and folks on the bottom in Syria, asking them, “‘Assist us with this. Assist us get Austin Tice residence,’” Sullivan stated.
Turkiye has been one of many main international supporters of insurgent teams in Syria regardless of being at odds with Kurdish teams against al-Assad who’re supported by the US.
The newest push comes as insurgent teams – of their lightning offensive throughout Syria – have launched 1000’s of prisoners held for years beneath al-Assad’s authorities. A lot of their fates had remained unknown to household amid what rights displays have described as the previous Syrian chief’s brutal crackdown on any perceived type of dissent.
In 2023, the Syrian Community for Human Rights reported that greater than 155,000 individuals had been detained or forcibly disappeared since Syria’s struggle started in 2011 with greater than 135,000 believed to be held by al-Assad.
The others are stated to have been detained or disappeared by the hands of different actors contained in the fractured nation, together with ISIL (ISIS), which managed giant swaths of Syria and Iraq in the course of the top of its affect.
‘Austin Tice is alive’
US President Joe Biden had beforehand pushed for Tice’s launch with the Division of State in 2022 saying it was “instantly engaged” with Syrian officers on the matter. The al-Assad authorities had repeatedly denied it was holding Tice.
Nonetheless, in delivering his first public response on the opposition takeover in Syria, Biden on Sunday voiced hope that Tice might nonetheless be saved.
“We predict we will get him again, however now we have no direct proof of that but. And Assad ought to be held accountable,” Biden stated. “We’ve to determine the place he’s.”
Tice was final seen in a video launched weeks after his abduction, exhibiting him blindfolded and held by armed males. He’s heard saying, “Oh, Jesus.”
In a press release on Monday, the lacking man’s dad and mom stated they anticipated to see their son once more.
“Austin Tice is alive, in Syria, and it’s time for him to return residence. We’re eagerly anticipating seeing Austin stroll free and we’re asking anybody who can achieve this to please help Austin so he can safely return residence to our household,” Marc and Debra Tice stated.
