USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Home / World

    Syria rebels hold UN peacekeepers

    By Agencies in Damascus, Syria and Manila, Philippines | China Daily | Updated: 2013-03-08 07:07

     Syria rebels hold UN peacekeepers

    An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on Wednesday, allegedly shows armed fighters standing in front of a United Nations Disengagement Force vehicle in the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel. Youtube via Agence France-Presse

    World condemns spillover of civil war onto armistice line with Israel

    Syrian rebels kept 21 UN peacekeepers hostage on the Golan Heights on Thursday despite world condemnation of the spillover of Syria's conflict onto the sensitive armistice line with Israel.

    Diplomats scrambled to secure the release of the 21 Filipinos serving with the four-decade-old UN peace mission on the strategic plateau, as concern mounted that their seizure might prompt more governments to withdraw their contingents.

    Israel, which has repeatedly warned that it will not tolerate any spillover onto the Golan, said it feared the hostage-taking might lead to the already depleted force being wound up altogether.

    For months, Israel has retaliated against stray fire onto its side of the armistice line, whether from Damascus troops or the rebels, who are also hostile to its occupation of the Syrian territory.

    The Philippine soldiers were detained at a rebel post on the Syrian side on Wednesday by gunmen who said the troops would be held until government forces pulled back from Jamla village in the southern province of Daraa.

    The village is some 1.5 kilometers east of the armistice line.

    Talks under way

    The Philippine government said on Thursday that talks were under way for the release of the 21 unarmed Filipino UN peacekeepers.

    Foreign Affairs Department spokesman Raul Hernandez said the peacekeepers were unharmed and were being treated as "visitors and guests".

    Hernandez told reporters in Manila that the UN force commander in the area was negotiating with the leader of the rebel group, whose demands concerned the positioning of Syrian government forces in the area. He said there was no deadline for the negotiations.

    Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said earlier on Thursday that the UN force commander told him to expect the peacekeepers to be released within 24 hours, with negotiations progressing well. The UN Security Council demanded their immediate and unconditional release.

    The capture came a week after the announcement that a member of the peacekeeping force is missing. The force, known as UNDOF, was established a year after the 1973 Middle East war. It monitors the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces and maintains a cease-fire.

    Gross violation of law

    Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the peacekeepers' detention was a gross violation of international law as they were operating under the UN flag.

    The captive troops are part of a 300-strong Philippine contingent to the UN force that has been monitoring the separation of Israeli and Syrian troops on the Golan.

    At the end of February, the UN Disengagement Force comprised some 1,000 peacekeepers, but a growing number of incidents over the past year has made it increasingly difficult for the United Nations to keep the mission up to strength.

    Canada and Japan had already withdrawn their small contingents, and Croatia announced last week it was pulling out its 100 troops.

    Aquino said no decision had yet been made on the future of Manila's contingent, but its withdrawal would leave just Austrian and Indian troops.

    UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told reporters after briefing the Security Council that negotiations were under way with the rebels to secure the peacekeepers' release "and the matter is mobilizing all our teams".

    In an amateur video footage, a rebel spokesman said the peacekeepers would not be freed until Syrian government forces pull out of the area.

    "If they do not withdraw, these men will be treated as prisoners," spokesman Abu Kaid al-Faleh said, accusing the UN force of working with the Syrian army against the rebels.

    Israel, which captured much of the Golan in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move that has never been recognized by the international community, said it feared any depletion of the UN force would pose a serious threat.

    "This kidnapping is likely to convince countries that participate in this force to bring their troops home, which would undoubtedly create a dangerous vacuum in no-man's land on the Golan," an Israeli official said.

    The Yediot Aharonot daily said Israeli officials feared that "al-Qaida members will take control of the buffer zone".

    AFP-AP

    Syria rebels hold UN peacekeepers

    (China Daily 03/08/2013 page11)

    Today's Top News

    Editor's picks

    Most Viewed

    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    最近更新2019中文字幕| 精品人妻无码专区中文字幕| 国产激情无码一区二区| 色综合久久中文字幕无码| 亚洲成AV人片在线播放无码| 无码不卡亚洲成?人片| 一本无码中文字幕在线观| 亚洲高清中文字幕免费| 日韩人妻无码一区二区三区99 | 最近2019中文字幕电影1| 亚洲av无码精品网站| 日本高清不卡中文字幕免费| 无码AV波多野结衣久久| 中文国产成人精品久久亚洲精品AⅤ无码精品 | 亚洲A∨无码一区二区三区| 中文亚洲AV片不卡在线观看| 亚洲va无码手机在线电影| 亚洲精品无码鲁网中文电影| 免费A级毛片无码专区| 中文字幕一区二区三区在线不卡| 中文字幕有码无码AV| 国产V亚洲V天堂无码久久久| 亚洲中文字幕无码一区二区三区| 在线中文字幕一区| 亚洲色偷拍区另类无码专区| 无码内射中文字幕岛国片| 成人无码WWW免费视频| 天堂8а√中文在线官网| 无码不卡亚洲成?人片| 国产v亚洲v天堂无码网站| 久久精品亚洲中文字幕无码麻豆| 亚洲国产a∨无码中文777| 精品人妻无码区在线视频| 视频一区二区中文字幕| 日本中文字幕网站| 超清中文乱码字幕在线观看| 人妻少妇看A偷人无码精品视频| 91精品日韩人妻无码久久不卡| 亚洲爆乳无码一区二区三区| 十八禁视频在线观看免费无码无遮挡骂过| 亚洲欧美中文日韩在线v日本|