American man found wandering near Damascus after months in Syrian prison

An American man, held for months in a Syrian prison after entering the country on foot, has described being freed by hammer-wielding men as rebels overthrew Bashar al’s regime. -Assad.

The man – who later identified himself as Travis Timmerman with CBS, the BBC’s US news partner – was found by residents near the capital Damascus.

Footage posted on social media showed him lying on a sofa as residents spoke to local reporters.

Mr. Timmerman said he was arrested upon entering the country seven months ago.

He was reported missing in May, last seen in the Hungarian capital Budapest, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Hungarian authorities.

On Monday, a day after rebels took control of Damascus and ousted Assad, Mr. Timmerman said two men wielding hammers broke down his prison door.

“It was destroyed, it woke me up,” he said.

“I think the guards are still there, so I think the fighting might have been more active at the end… When we got out, there was no resistance, no real fighting.”

The 30-year-old man said he left the prison with a large group of people and was trying to make his way to Jordan.

He said he “had a few scary moments” as he left the prison, adding that he was more worried about finding somewhere to sleep.

However, he told reporters that locals accepted his requests for food and support.

“Mostly they come to me,” Mr. Timmerman said.

Thousands of prisoners have been released since Assad fell over the weekend.

Footage shows men, women and in some cases children emerging from overcrowded windowless cells, often disoriented and unaware of the events taking place outside.

However, Mr. Timmerman appeared to be treated relatively well, telling CBS: “I feel fine. I’ve been fed and hydrated so I feel fine.”

He added that he had used his cell phone during his detention and had spoken to his family three weeks ago.

Speaking to US news agency NBC, Mr Timmerman said he had crossed the mountains between Lebanon and Syria on a “pilgrimage” and had “read the Bible a lot”.

He refused the opportunity to interact with American officials.

A US official told NBC that Washington “is aware of information about an American found outside of Damascus and is seeking to assist. Out of respect for his privacy, we have no further information to provide.” provided at this time”.

On Tuesday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US had asked Syria’s main rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to help locate and free American journalist Austin Tice.

A freelance journalist, Mr. Tice was reportedly arrested near Damascus on August 14, 2012 while he was covering the country’s civil war. He was last seen in a video, blindfolded and appearing distressed – posted online weeks after his arrest. The US believes he is being held by the Assad regime.

Chairperson Joe Biden said the US believes Mr. Tice is aliveBut they must pinpoint his location.

The Assad regime is famous for its extremely harsh prisons, with the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group estimating that nearly 60,000 people have been tortured and killed in prisons by the president. Executive deposition.

The victorious rebels say they have a plan Close Assad’s prisons and hunt down those involved in killing or torturing detainees.

Rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, said: “We will pursue them in Syria and we ask countries to hand over those who flee so we can reach get justice”.