UN reinforces positions after Syria rebels seize peacekeepers

Описание: (28 Aug 2014) United Nations troops were seen on Thursday crossing from the Israeli-controlled side of the Golan Heights to the Syrian side.
The troop movements came not long after the United Nations confirmed that 43 peacekeepers had been detained by an armed group in Syria during fighting and that 81 other peacekeepers are trapped.
The office of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the peacekeepers were detained early on Thursday on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights during a "period of increased fighting between armed elements and the Syrian Arab Armed Forces".
The statement said the other 81 peacekeepers were "currently being restricted to their positions in the vicinity of Ar Ruwayhinah and Burayqah".
The UN statement did not specify which armed group was holding the peacekeepers.
Various Syrian rebel groups, including the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, have been fighting the Syrian military near the Golan Heights.
On Wednesday, opposition fighters captured a Golan Heights crossing point on the disputed border between Syria and Israel.
The detained peacekeepers are part of UNDOF, the mission that has been monitoring a 1974 disengagement accord between Syria and Israel after their 1973 war.
Currently, six countries contribute troops to UNDOF: Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands and the Philippines.


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