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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Four U.N. Peacekeepers Seized in Golan Heights |
| 2013-05-08 |
| [An Nahar] An gang on Tuesday kidnapped four U.N. peacekeepers from the Philippines in the Golan Heights, which has been hit by mounting spillover from the Syrian civil war, the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... said. The four were patrolling near the Al Jamlah locality in the ceasefire zone between Israel and Syria where 21 Filipino peacekeepers were seized by Syrian rebels in March, said a U.N. peacekeeping spokeswoman, Josephine Guerrero. "An unknown gang" took the men, Guerrero told Agence La Belle France Presse. "Efforts are underway to secure their release." In a posting on their Facebook page, the "Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade" rebel group said they had taken the four peacekeepers for their own safety because of fierce fighting in the area. "The leadership of the Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade announces... an operation to secure and protect United Nations forces in Wadi Yarmuk in the area between Syria and the occupied Golan Heights," the group said. The posting showed a photograph of four men in blue flak jackets, with three of them marked "U.N." and "Philippines." The statement said shelling by regime troops and fighting in the area "seriously threatened the safety" of the peacekeepers and had prompted the fighters to "intervene and work to get them out." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog confirmed there was heavy fighting underway in the area. The U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which has been in the Golan Heights since 1974, has about 1,000 troops and civilian staff. The 917 troops from Austria, India, the Philippines, Morocco and Moldova carry only very light arms. The United Nations sent extra armored personnel carriers, ambulances and other security equipment to the force after the March 6-9 abduction. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 I prefer a lightening repose and a fine pasty, mice elf. |
| Posted by: Dopey Sinatra9196 2013-05-08 19:36 |
| #4 Research bores me to tears, I prefer a lighting response and a fine pastry. It's ever so much more civil. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2013-05-08 17:41 |
| #3 UN Disengagement Observer Force. 'Research' is a wonderful thing... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2013-05-08 15:49 |
| #2 Four U.N. Peacekeepers Seized in Golan Heights And what the hell were they doing there? |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2013-05-08 13:39 |
| #1 "Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade" Not to be confused with the "Martyrs Brigade of Yarmuk"... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2013-05-08 11:48 |