Syrian rebels attack peacekeepers in Golan Heights

Written by : Mohamed Abdel Fattah

30 August 2014



Militants fighting the Syrian army have detained 43 U.N. peacekeepers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and trapped another 81 in the region, and the world body is working to secure their release, the United Nations said on Thursday.

The peacekeepers were detained on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights during a "period of increased fighting between armed elements and the Syrian Arab Armed Forces," the office of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement. It said another 81 peacekeepers are "currently being restricted to their positions in the vicinity of Ar Ruwayhinah and Burayqah."

The affected peacekeepers are from the Philippines and Fiji, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Philippine military spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala told reporters, "There is an ongoing firefight, but all Filipinos are safe."

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)

Israel seized most of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau in south-western Syria, during the 1967 Six-Day War, and technically Israel at war with Syria ,later Israel's annexation of the area has never been recognized internationally.

There are currently 1,200 peacekeepers serving in UNDOF from the Philippines, Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal and the Netherlands.

The UN Security Council has demanded the "unconditional and immediate release" of the peacekeepers and urged countries with influence to help win their release.

Sources

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/08/30/syria-rebels-fiji-golan-heights/14858041/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/29/us-syria-crisis-peacekeepers-un-idUSKBN0GS1SY20140829

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/international/2014/08/un_armed_group_detains_43_peacekeepers_in_syria

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