Syrian armed fighters, including some linked to the Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, stormed a Golan Heights crossing on Wednesday, taking 44 troops from Fiji who were forced to surrender their weapons. The rebels surrounded another group of 72 soldiers from the Philippines serving in the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) that is tasked with monitoring a ceasefire between Syria and Israel since 1974.
The United Nations did not say whether the 44 Fijian soldiers had been released, but a statement suggested progress was being made in negotiations to secure their freedom. "The United Nations has received assurances from credible sources that 44 peacekeepers from UNDOF who were taken from their position... are safe and in good health," said a statement from the spokesman. "UNDOF has not yet had direct contact with the peacekeepers." It added that UNDOF officials had been "informed that the intention of those holding the peacekeepers was to remove them from an active battlefield to a safe area for their own protection."
UNDOF has been in "regular contact" with 72 Filipino peacekeepers who were surrounded by the rebels on Thursday and who had refused to disarm. They too "have not been harmed and are in good health," he added.
The UN revised an earlier figure from 43 to 44 Fijians and from 75 to 72 Filipinos after checking leave records with the mission..........................http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/un-says-detained/1337254.html
30/8/14
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Besieged UN peacekeepers battle Islamists in Golan Heights...
ReplyDeleteA firefight erupted Saturday between a group of Filipino UN peacekeepers and the Islamist militants surrounding their position in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, defence officials in the Philippines said.
About 40 troops from the Philippines manning one of two camps on the Syrian side of the frontier, identified as camp 68, came under attack at around 6am local time, Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told reporters in a mobile phone text message.
Another defence official said all the Philippine troops were safe.
“There was a firefight but I would like to assure everyone that our troops are safe at the moment,” said Ramon Zagala, chief of the Philippines' armed forces public affairs office.
Despite being surrounded, the Filipino troops have held their ground for about 48 hours and have refused to give up their arms to the militants.
Another 35 Philippines troops were at another site, known as camp 69, about 4 kms away but were not engaged in the firefight.
The peacekeepers are from the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), tasked with monitoring a ceasefire between Syria and Israel since 1974 in the wake of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
UN officials are still trying to establish the whereabouts of 44 Fijian peacekeepers, also part of UNDOF, who were seized by al Qaeda-linked militants from the Nusra Front this week along the rocky frontier between Syria and the Golan Heights.
The Fijian peacekeepers were captured from their post about eight kilometres away from the Filipino troops.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS and AFP)
http://www.france24.com/en/20140830-un-peacekeepers-battle-islamists-golan-heights-philippines-syria/
30/8/14