Meanwhile, Fiji military officials confirmed Saturday that they no longer know the whereabouts of its peacekeepers captured by al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights. “Their whereabouts at this stage, unfortunately, I cannot confirm,” Brigadier Mosese Tikoitoga told reporters after speaking to the head of the UN team negotiating for their release. “They confirmed that our men are safe and they are all well. [But] they have been moved to a location out of the bombardment range of any security forces or the Syrian security forces. “It is out of the UN territory. But again it’s the word of the group. We’ve got no verification what so ever, no communication but we’re only relaying the message that was delivered to us by the negotiators.” Australia’s foreign minister on Saturday condemned the detention of the peacekeepers. “Australia condemns the detention … of 44 Fiji peacekeepers in the Golan Heights by armed groups,” Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a statement. “As a member of the UN Security Council, Australia demands the unconditional and immediate release of all the detained United Nations peacekeepers.” The situation of the peacekeepers, whose mission monitors a 1974 disengagement accord between Syria and Israel, remained “very, very fluid,” the UN secretary-general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday at the UN headquarters in New York. The UN said in a statement it has received assurances from credible sources that the Fijian peacekeepers “are safe and in good health.” The statement added that they had been informed “the intention behind holding the peacekeepers was to remove them from an active battlefield to a safe area for their own protection.” Bishop said she had telephoned Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and Foreign Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola to express Australia’s strong support, including Australia’s intelligence resources, for Fiji at this difficult time. Bishop also said she assured them that Australia will use its position on the UN Security Council to maintain focus on this issue. The Fijians were captured on Wednesday when armed Syrian rebels linked to the al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front, stormed a Golan Heights crossing. The soldiers are serving in the UN Disengagement Observer Force stationed in a buffer zone to monitor a ceasefire between Syria and Israel since 1974.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 10:20:56 +0000
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