UN Peacekeepers Abducted Near Syria Border

UNDOF

Four UN peackeepers are being held in the ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, where neither Israeli nor Syrian forces can operate.

Spokeswoman for the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), Josephine Guerrero, said on Tuesday that the four were “detained today by an unidentified armed group while they were patrolling” near Al Jamlah in the so-called Area of Limitation.

“The four are from the Philippine battalion. Efforts are under way to secure their release,” she said.

UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the abductions and called for the peacekeepers’ immediate release.

“The secretary-general calls on all parties to respect UNDOF’s freedom of movement and safety and security,” Martin Nesirky, Ban’s spokesman, said.

A Syrian rebel group had claimed responsibility for the abductions, Reuters reports, quoting the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigades as saying that it was holding four Filipino peacekeepers following clashes in the area that had put them in danger.

Rebel brigades based in the area where the abductions occurred however maintain that [the peacekeepers] are not hostages. They [rebels] did not kidnap the UN peacekeepers. They simply took [the peacekeepers] because they want to save their lives.

The rebels say they are trying to protect the UN observers, as there is a lot of heavy clashes in the area between government forces and the rebels, with a promise of releasing them soon.