UNDOF Observers kidnapped by al Qaeda offshoot

RackMaster

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Anyone watching this? Frankly I wish it had more coverage.

I think the UN better have a response by morning.

http://www.businessinsider.com/dozens-of-undof-troops-kidnapped-2014-8

According to an August 28 UN statement, 43 peacekeepers "were detained early this morning by an armed group in the vicinity of Al Qunaytirah." An additional 81 peacekeepers were being "restricted to their positions" at two bases south of the area where the kidnapping reportedly occurred.
 
http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/heroic-irish-troops-rescue-filipino-4131748

Irish troops rescued Filipino soldiers who were being hunted by Syrian rebels.

Our brave soldiers managed to save the peacekeepers from a massacre by securing an escape route for the Filipinos near the Israeli-Syrian border.

The militants had captured 43 Fijian soldiers from one UN post and transported them to where the Filipino troops were stationed.

They demanded those troops hand over their guns in exchange for the men and women.

But before any deal could be made, the Filipinos managed to escape from the post and were left isolated by the jihadists who were chasing them down.

That’s when our Irish soldiers stepped in to protect them troops

The place our is one of the most hostile areas in the region and our troops were in serious danger at the time.
 
Why would JN risk UN intervention at this stage of the game? JN is in a battle with Assad forces and is still at odds with ISIS....

Are you serious? UN intervention? Hahaha, WTF is the UN going to do?


About the only time the UN intervened is when it broke it's own charter and invaded a peaceful province and slaughtered many people in Katanga, oh and then they (via Dutch Soldiers) intervened or should I say colluded with Serbians to commit genocide in former Yugoslavia.

Give me a break, the UN is the epitome of PC world order gone wrong. The UN's motto should be...
"PLEASE DON'T OFFEND ANYONE, AT ANY COST, REGARDLESS OF COST!"
 
I probably worded that wrong...while the UN is indeed impotent, this act could bring action against them by countries who are sitting on the fence...I provocation that JN could have avoided at this stage in the game. Assad is probably laughing his ass off...
 
Wow, that's pretty bloody interesting.

I heard it on the radio but here's a report I found on it.

Filipino UN peacekeepers rescued, 44 Fijian personnel remain missing
By REUTERS
LAST UPDATED: 08/31/2014 08:10



cleardot.gif
Rebels capture 43 UN peacekeepers at Israel-Syria border
The United Nations said the 40 peacekeepers left during a cease-fire agreed with "armed elements" in the area shortly after midnight local time and were moved to a safe place.

In Manila, General Gregorio Catapang, the Philippines' armed forces chief, told a news conference that Israel and Syria helped in what was the "greatest escape" of Filipino troops after engaging about 100 Islamist militants surrounding them in a seven-hour firefight. The troops escaped in the middle of the night while the rebels were sleeping, he said.

"This attack prompted UNDOF to reposition our troops to a more secure position within the mission area," Catapang said, referring to the UN peacekeeping force that has monitored the disengagement zone between Israel and Syria since 1974, following the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

"Currently, Filipino peacekeepers from both Position 68 and 69 have been successfully repositioned to Camp Ziuoani."

On Saturday, 32 peacekeepers were rescued from Islamists who fired at their post and trapped them for two days, the United Nations said. Catapang said Irish UNDOF troops helped in the rescue. It was not known if any rebels were killed or wounded in the operation.

Late on Saturday, UN diplomatic sources said militants had reinforced their siege of the 40 peacekeepers trapped at Position 68.

Colonel Roberto Ancan, head of the Philippine military's peacekeeping operations center, said Syrian government forces fired artillery at the rebels, weakening their positions surrounding the peacekeepers. None of the peacekeepers were wounded, he said.

The UN press office said in a statement that "shortly after midnight local time on 31 August, during a cease-fire agreed with the armed elements, all the 40 Filipino peacekeepers from UN Position 68 left the position. The 40 peacekeepers arrived in a safe location one hour later."

Another UN statement issued in New York on Saturday said UNDOF had evacuated two observation posts after one of them came under fire and moved 11 staff to a safe location.


Earlier on Saturday, a Reuters cameraman spotted 11 UN armored vehicles returning to their base in Israeli-controlled territory about 12 hours after the peacekeepers came under fire at around 6 a.m. (0300 GMT).

"All 32 Filipino personnel from this position have been extricated and are now safe," the UN press office said in a statement issued in New York. "The UN peacekeepers returned fire and prevented the attackers from entering the position."

Separately, 44 UNDOF peacekeepers from Fiji were detained by militants 8 km (5 miles) away from the Philippine troops on Thursday and remain missing.

A senior UN official told Reuters that it appears at least one rebel was killed in fighting during the course of Thursday and Friday, though the details and exact timing remained unclear.

REBELS SAY FIJIANS IN GOOD HEALTH

A commander with the Islamist Nusra Front, a group linked to al-Qaida, told Reuters the Fijian peacekeepers had been detained because UNDOF was aiding the government of President Bashar Assad and had ignored the suffering of the Syrian people.

UNDOF has been deployed "since 1974 to ensure the safety and protection of the borders with (Israel), the usurper of the lands of the Muslims, at the same time it completely ignored the daily shedding of the Muslims' blood on the other side of the border," part of a Nusra Twitter message said.

It added that the men were being treated well and were in good health.

A UN official said a number of UNDOF contingents participated in the rescue on Saturday, assisted by Israeli and Syrian forces.

UNDOF has 1,223 peacekeepers in the zone from six countries: Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, the Netherlands and the Philippines.

The United Nations said this week the Philippines had decided to pull out of UNDOF and from a UN force in Liberia, which is struggling with an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.

Blue-helmeted UN troops were seized on the Golan Heights by militants in March and May 2013. In both cases they were released safely.

Austria, Japan and Croatia have all pulled their troops out of UNDOF due to the deteriorating security situation and spillover from the Syrian war.

The Golan is a strategic plateau captured by Israel in 1967, and Syria and Israel technically remain at war. UNDOF monitors the area of separation, a narrow strip of land running about 70 km (45 miles) from Mount Hermon on the Lebanese border to the Yarmouk River frontier with Jordan.

Rebels of the Nusra Front have been battling the Syrian army in the area and have wrested control of the border crossing at Quneitra, which is operated by the United Nations.

ISRAEL PREPARED

Asked how Israel intends to meet the new challenge in the Golan area, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in an interview recorded on Friday and aired on Saturday that Israel was prepared to face the threats.

"We have already taken steps. We did not wait, we built and renovated the security fence. Al Nusra has been present there for about the past five months. We are prepared for various possibilities," he told Channel 10 television.

"We live in a tough Middle East, in a tough area, and compared with other countries, we are taking care of our security and economy better than everyone. But we face challenges on a number of fronts," Netanyahu said.

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/UN...rs-rescued-from-Syrian-rebels-in-Golan-372816
 
I heard the Israelis provided "air support" and the Syrians provided "arty support" to keep one of the camps from being overrun.

I wonder if it was coordinated or if it was just everyone happened to be shooting at the bad guys at the same time. I'm going with the latter.
 
I wonder if it was coordinated or if it was just everyone happened to be shooting at the bad guys at the same time. I'm going with the latter.

I wouldn't doubt that about the Syrian contribution, but The Israelis don't do things randomly.
 
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