The U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors called Monday for the release of a correspondent and a Turkish cameraman who went missing in northern Syria while on assignment for the U.S.-funded Alhurra television channel.

The cameraman, Cuneyt Unal, appeared in a video Monday aired on a pro-government Syrian news channel, al-Ikhbariya.

Unal said in a statement that he was part of an international militant force, but Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the cameraman's speech was dictated to him. The cameraman went missing one week ago along with Alhurra correspondent Bashar Fahmi.

“This video is deeply disturbing and underscores the perilous situation for these journalists,” said Michael Meehan, a member of the BBG board and Chairman of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.

“They entered Syria only to report the news,” Meehan said of the journalists. “We call for their immediate release, and we urge the Syrian government to take action to ensure their safety.”

Alhurra's parent organization, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, also oversees the Voice of America.

The video clip starts with a still photograph of Unal holding a rocket launcher. It then shows a tired-looking Unal, with what appears to be bruises under his eyes, speaking to a person who is off-camera and holding a microphone.

Unal says he flew from Istanbul to Hatay and then drove to Kilis province. From Kilis, he says he traveled to Azaz with what he calls “an armed group” that included Chechens, Libyans, Saudi Arabians and Qataris.

Unal also talks about traveling with the group to the Mahri Tarafat region and then to Aleppo where there were clashes with government forces and he was captured.

Unal crossed into Syria on August 20, along with Alhurra correspondent Fahmi and two Japanese journalists, one of whom, Mika Yamamoto, was killed in Aleppo a day later after being caught in a gunfight between rebel and government forces.

In the video, Unal does not mention the whereabouts of his Alhurra colleague, Fahmi.