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Fiji Says U.N. Negotiating Demands with Hostage Takers
[AnNahar] Fiji revealed for the first time Tuesday the demands being made by al-Qaeda-linked Syria rebels who took more than 40 U.N. peacekeepers hostage in the Golan Heights last week.Fiji army chief Mosese Tikoitoga said the rebels wanted their organization, the al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front, to be removed from the U.N.'s list of terrorist organizations. He said they also wanted humanitarian aid sent to a small town which is an al-Nusra stronghold just outside Damascus and were demanding compensation for three of their fighters who had been hurt in recent days. "These are the official demands that are being quoted to the U.N. for the release of our boys," Tikoitoga told news hounds in Suva. Unconfirmed reports in Fiji's media said the hostage takers were also demanding the release of Abu Mussab al-Suri, also known as Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, an al-Qaeda leader who was tossed in the calaboose Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! in Pakistain in 2005 and is now being held by Syrian authorities. Tikoitoga said there were 45 troops in the captured peacekeeping deployment, not 44 or 43 as authorities originally stated. He released the names of the soldiers and said the Fiji government was operating a crisis center for their families in Suva. He said a U.N. negotiation team had arrived in the Golan Heights from New York to take over negotiations with the rebels. "Unfortunately we have not made any improvement in the situation, our troops remain at an undisclosed located, the rebels are not telling us where they are," he said. "But they continue to reassure us that they're being well looked after, they're being fed well and are being kept safe. They've also told us that they've been taken out of battle (combat) areas." The Fijians were captured last Wednesday when the rebels stormed a Golan Heights crossing.
Ireland, which contributes a 130-member armored rapid response unit to the UN mission, warned Monday it would not replace its troops next month if UN leaders in New York do not agree on strengthening the force's firepower, command and control, and rules of engagement. "I've made it very clear that I'm not going to continue to commit Irish troops to this mission unless there's a very fundamental review of how it's going to operate. Clearly this is no longer a demilitarized zone," Irish Defense Minister Simon Coveney told RTE state radio in Dublin. "We need to get a significant reassurance from the UN, and the Syrian side, that we can operate a mission safely. The risk levels, given what's happened over the last three days, are not acceptable." He said Irish troops in armored vehicles exchanged fire with rebels Saturday as they rescued Filipino troops from one of the besieged border posts. The Indian-led, 1,250-member force includes soldiers from Fiji, India, Nepal, the Philippines and the Netherlands. Coveney said the Irish unit remained on standby for a potential rescue of the seized Fijian troops. Ireland's current military deployment has been in the Golan Heights since March and is supposed to be replaced by other Irish soldiers next month. An Irish withdrawal could deal a final blow to the UN mission, which has already seen Austria and Croatia pull their forces last year over fears they would be targeted. The Philippines, meanwhile, has said it would bring home its peacekeepers after their tour of duty ends in October. Posted by: trailing wife 2014-09-03 |
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