Syrian rebels fail to release captured UN troops
Friday 08 March 2013
Printable
EmailThe Philippine government said today that Syrian rebels had failed to release 21 UN peacekeepers.
Instead, the rebels stuck to their demands for repositioning of Syrian government forces before any handover.
The 21 Filipino peacekeepers were seized on Wednesday near the Syrian village of Jamlah, near the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, where the UN force has patrolled a ceasefire line between Israel and Syria for nearly four decades.
Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said the rebels had been expected to free the peacekeepers early today.
"I don't know exactly know what happened, why the expected release did not happen, but the demand is still there" for the Syrian forces to pull back, he said in Manila.
Last week, rebels from the group holding the peacekeepers took several Syrian army checkpoints in the area.
However, there are still government positions nearby and the rebels are apparently holding the peacekeepers as human shields.
If you appreciated this article then please consider donating to the Morning Star's Fighting Fund to ensure we can keep developing your paper.
Editorial
Spending the only way out
George Osborne's advice from the International Monetary Fund is like the curate's egg - good in parts.
Features
More folly in the Middle East
The government wants to ramp up Western involvement in the Syrian conflict but the cost will be more violence and instability in the region
Where there's resistance, there's hope
PCS general secretary urges the trade union movement to step up the fight against the Tory cuts