European members of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) use binoculars to watch the Syrian side of the Golan Heights on Aug. 30, 2014, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, after Syrian rebel fighters took control of the Quneitra checkpoint between Israel and Syria.(Photo: Ahmad Gharabli, AFP/Getty Images)
Thirty-two Filipino U.N. peacekeepers have been rescued from Islamist militants in Golan Heights as clashes continue against al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebels.
The militants surrounded their camp, trapping them for two days, activists and officials said.
Other U.N. peacekeepers were able to flee from a different encampment that was also surrounded by rebels of the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, they said.
The clashes come after Syrian rebel groups, including the al-Nusra Front, overran the Quneitra Crossing — located on the frontier between Syrian- and Israeli-controlled parts of the Golan Heights — on Wednesday, seizing 44 Fijian peacekeepers.
The U.N. reports that it is "still working towards the safe release of the detained 44 Fijian peacekeepers" and that "there are no reported casualties amongst U.N. personnel."
The peacekeepers are a part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) which has been in place since 1974 to maintain the cease-fire between the Israeli and Syrian forces, the website states.
UNDOF has 1,223 troops from six countries: Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands and the Philippines.
The al-Nusra Front also surrounded the nearby Rwihana and Breiqa encampments, where other U.N. peacekeepers were holed up.
One of the encampments is under fire, preventing personnel from moving out, the U.N. said in a press release.
"The Secretary-General demands the unconditional and immediate release of all the detained United Nations peacekeepers," a U.N. press release stated.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1tWzt4U
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1qU73YY
0 comments:
Post a Comment