Trump says “Syria, Please Work with Us and release American journalist Austin Tice”

Listen to this article

U.S President Donald Trump has called on Syria to release American journalist Austin Tice. The journalist and former Marine veteran went missing in the country nearly 8-years ago and is believed to have been detained by the Syrian regime. On Thursday, Trump said at a press conference, he said, “We have one young gentleman, Austin Tice, and we’re working very hard with Syria to get him out. We hope the Syrian government will do that. Syria, please work with us. We would appreciate you letting him out”. It is noteworthy that Tice went missing in Syria in August 2012 while reporting on the country’s civil war. He was believed to have been captured by the Syrian government outside of Damascus, but Syrian officials have publicly denied any knowledge of his whereabouts.

Trump said in his public statement, “Think about what we’ve done. We’ve gotten rid of the ISIS caliphate. We’ve done a lot for Syria”. Trump replied when asked whether he was saying he knew Tice was still alive, he said, “No, I’m not. But we’re trying to find that out”. Point to be noted that Tice is a freelance journalist and photographer working for a number of media outlets, including The Washington Post and McClatchy newspapers. FBI also said he was kidnapped during reporting in Daraya, Damascus. CBS News also reported on Thursday, the U.S President Trump urged the Syrian government to secure the release of journalist Austin Tice.

President Donald Trump informed reporters, “Recovering Americans held captive and imprisoned abroad continues to be a top priority for my administration. We have one young gentleman, Austin Tice. He is an American journalist kidnapped while on assignment there in 2012. We are working very hard with Syria to get him out. We hope the Syrian government will do that”. He said, “Syria, please work with us, and we would appreciate you letting him out”. Trump also said the U.S has done a lot for Syria. He also admired mother of Tice and called her an incredible woman. Moreover, Trump didn’t confirm that he has any knowledge regarding health of Tice.