UN: 'Very fluid' situation on held peacekeepers

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Posted: Friday, August 29, 2014 7:23 pm | Updated: 10:00 pm, Fri Aug 29, 2014.

Associated Press

 UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The plight of dozens of U.N. peacekeepers in Syria remained "very, very fluid" Friday, the secretary-general's spokesman said, as talks aimed at their release stretched into a second day.

Some radio contact has been made with the 72 peacekeepers from the Philippines who have been restricted to their positions, Stephane Dujarric told reporters. Another 44 peacekeepers from Fiji remain detained.

On Friday evening, the U.N. said in a statement it "has received assurances from credible sources" that the Fijian peacekeepers "are safe and in good health."

The statement added that they had been informed "the intention behind holding the peacekeepers was to remove them from an active battlefield to a safe area for their own protection."

Kate Brandli, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Department Peacekeeping Operations, could not offer further clarification beyond confirming they have not been released.

The U.N. has not said exactly who is holding the peacekeepers, whose mission monitors a 1974 disengagement accord between Syria and Israel. Various Syrian rebel groups have been engaged in intense fighting with the Syrian military in and near the Golan Heights.

Dujarric said the peacekeepers were being held by "non-state armed actors" who identify as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

He said talks continue "with a wide range of parties within Syria" and U.N. member states who may have influence with them. Details remained sketchy, he added.

"Those who are being held have food and water for some time," Dujarric said. "At this very point, it is not an extreme concern."

Both the Philippines and Fiji remained hopeful the impasse could be resolved without bloodshed.

Fijian Commander Brig. Gen. Mosese Tikoitoga said he's been informed his soldiers are unharmed, although he hasn't been able to contact them directly. Philippines President Benigno Aquino III said that while the situation was tense, there was no reason to believe his troops faced immediate danger.

The events began Thursday morning on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, an area divided between Israel and Syria.

Tikoitoga said three vehicles filled with about 150 armed rebels converged on the Fijian camp at about 7:30 a.m.

He said the rebels demanded the Fijian soldiers leave within 10 minutes and insisted they board the rebel vehicles. The Fijians were then taken by the rebels to an unknown location. He said he's been told they were later transported back to their original post.

"We are all doing our best to ensure the safety of (those) that are currently being held captive," Tikoitoga said.

Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan with the Philippine military said the rebels surrounded two encampments about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) apart occupied by Filipino peacekeepers and demanded that they give up their firearms, but the peacekeepers refused. "This resulted in a standoff," he said, reading from a statement.

However, "the potential for de-escalation is still positive," he said. The military leadership in the Philippines was in direct communication with the peacekeepers, he added.

Col. Roberto Ancan, commander of the Philippine military's Peacekeeping Operations Center, said the soldiers were armed with assault rifles, light machine guns and pistols and had enough ammunition to defend themselves.

"We have our rules of engagement wherein we can use deadly force in defense of United Nations facilities," he said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the detention of the Fijians and called for their immediate release.

The U.N. mission, known as UNDOF, has 1,223 troops from six countries: Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands and the Philippines.

But the Philippine government last week said it would bring home its 331 peacekeeping forces from the Golan Heights after their tour of duty ends in October, amid the deteriorating security.

Fiji said it would not be pressured into withdrawing from its peacekeeping efforts in the Golan Heights.

"We will not shy away from that responsibility under these circumstances," Tikoitoga said.

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Ligaiula reported from Suva, Fiji. AP writers Nick Perry in Wellington, New Zealand, and Oliver Teves in Manila contributed to this report.

Syrian rebels attack peacekeepers in Golan Heights

 

An armed group of men, not specified which group of rebels, gather at Syria's Quneitra border crossing between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Friday, Aug. 29, 2014. It was unclear if the men were connected to an armed group that, the United Nations said, detained more than 40 U.N. peacekeepers during fighting in Syria early 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. ( AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Metal boards in the shape of gunmen sit on an old bunker at an observation point on Mt. Bental in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, overlooking the border with Syria near the Quneitra province, Friday, Aug. 29, 2014. 

 

U.N. peacekeepers from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, also known as UNDOF, observe Syria's Quneitra province at an observation point on Mt. Bental in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, overlooking the border with Syria, Friday, Aug. 29, 2014. ( AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

 

In this Friday, July 18, 2014 photo, a contingent of Philippine U.N. Peacekeepers march past the grandstand during a turnover-of-command ceremony for the new Armed Forces chief at Camp Aguinaldo at suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines. Forty-four Fijian soldiers working as U.N. peacekeepers remained captive to a militant group in Syria Friday, Aug. 29, 2014 while 75 Philippine soldiers were in tense standoff with the rebels, according to the two Pacific nations. Both nations remained hopeful the impasse could be resolved without bloodshed. Philippines President Benigno Aquino III said that while the situation remained tense, there was no reason to believe his troops faced immediate danger. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

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Thế giới toàn cảnh - Thứ Sáu, 29/08/2014-2:30 PM
Hơn 40 nhân viên gìn giữ hòa bình của LHQ bị bắt ở Syria

Lực lượng gìn giữ hòa bình của Liên hợp quốc. Ngày 28/8, Liên hợp quốc (LHQ) xác nhận một nhóm vũ trang đã bắt giữ 43 nhân viên gìn giữ hòa bình của LHQ tại vùng lãnh thổ thuộc Syria trên Cao nguyên Golan.
Theo tuyên bố của LHQ, các nhân viên nói trên bị bắt giữ trong một cuộc giao tranh giữa các lực lượng vũ trang Syria tại khu vực cao nguyên Golan. Những người này đến từ Philippines và Fiji. Trong khi đó, hoạt động của 81 nhân viên gìn giữ hòa bình khác cũng đang bị hạn chế tại vùng lân cận của khu vực Ar Ruwayhinah và Burayah. LHQ khẳng định sẽ nỗ lực hết sức để giải cứu các nhân viên gìn giữ hòa bình bị bắt giữ đồng thời đảm bảo các điều kiện thuận lợi cho lực lượng gìn giữ hòa bình của LHQ thực thi nhiệm vụ. Vụ bắt giữ nhân viên nói trên diễn ra trong bối cảnh các lực lượng nổi dậy ở Syria, trong đó có Mặt trận Al-Nusra có liên hệ với mạng lưới khủng bố al-Qaeda, cùng ngày đã chiếm khu vực biên giới ở Quneitra. Phản ứng trước diễn biến trên, Israel đã lập tức đóng cửa biên giới tại khu vực quanh Quneitra. Q.C (theo AFP)