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Syrian Rebels Abduct 20 U.N. Soldiers in the Golan Heights Syrian Rebels Seize 20 U.N. Soldiers in the Golan Heights
(about 1 hour later)
Syria’s civil war entangled the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the disputed Golan Heights area between Syria and Israel on Wednesday, when 30 armed fighters for the insurgency detained a group of 20 peacekeepers investigating a damaged observation post, the United Nations said. Syria’s civil war entangled the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the disputed Golan Heights between Syria and Israel on Wednesday, when 30 armed fighters for the insurgency seized a group of 20 peacekeepers investigating a damaged observation post and threatened to treat them as enemy prisoners if Syrian forces remained in the area.
It was the first time that members of the Golan peacekeeping mission, officially known as the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, had been detained by any of the combatants in the Syrian conflict, although the Golan region has been periodically affected by armed clashes and occasional artillery or mortar bombardments that have become a source of concern to Israel. As the Syrian civil war has worsened, the Golan region has been periodically disrupted by armed clashes and occasional artillery or mortar bombardments that have become a source of concern to Israel. But United Nations officials said it was the first time that members of the Golan peacekeeping mission, officially known as the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, had been detained by any of the combatants in the conflict.
Josephine Guerrero, a spokeswoman for the Departments of Peacekeeping and Field Support at the United Nations, which oversees the Golan operation, said the group of 20 peacekeepers were detained near a damaged observation post that had been evacuated this past weekend after what she called “heavy combat in proximity” near the village of Al Jamlah. She said in an e-mailed statement that the mission was “dispatching a team to assess the situation and attempt a resolution.” Josephine Guerrero, a spokeswoman for the Departments of Peacekeeping and Field Support at the United Nations, which oversees the Golan operation, said the 20 peacekeepers were detained near an observation post that had been evacuated this past weekend after what she called “heavy combat in proximity” near the village of Al Jamlah. She said in an e-mailed statement that the mission was “dispatching a team to assess the situation and attempt a resolution.”
She had no further information on the insurgents involved, but a video uploaded on YouTube by a group that identified itself as the Martyrs of Yarmook claimed responsibility and said the peacekeepers would be held until Syrian government forces had withdrawn from the area. The video does not show any of the captives but does show United Nations vehicles. She had no further information on the insurgents involved or the nationalities of the detainees, but a video uploaded on YouTube by a group that identified itself as the Martyrs of Yarmouk claimed responsibility and said the peacekeepers would be held until Syrian government forces had withdrawn from the area around Al Jamlah.
The detention of the peacekeepers appeared to underscore the widening risks that the Syria conflict is destabilizing its borders. On Monday, more than 40 Syrian soldiers who had sought temporary safety in Iraq were killed in an ambush as the Iraqi military was transporting them back to the Syrian border. The video does not show any of the captives, but United Nations vehicles are visible. A speaker in the video warns in Arabic: “If the withdrawal does not take place within 24 hours, we will deal with those guys like war prisoners. And praise to God.”
Russia, a main supporter of the Syrian government in the conflict, holds the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for March. Its ambassador, Vitaly I. Churkin, said council members had been briefed about the Golan incident but that he did not have any information on the nationalities of the peacekeepers. Speaking to reporters at the United Nations, Mr. Churkin urged the captors to release the peacekeepers immediately. “They should stop this very dangerous course of action,” he said. The threat to the peacekeepers underscored the widening risks that the Syria conflict is destabilizing its borders. On Monday, more than 40 Syrian soldiers who had sought temporary safety in Iraq were killed in an ambush as the Iraqi military was transporting them back to the Syrian border.
Linking the Golan detentions to the Iraq killings on Monday, Mr. Churkin said: “Some people are trying very hard to extend the Syrian conflict. Today there is this incident. This is no-man’s land between Syria and Israel. Somebody is trying very hard to blow this crisis up.” At the United Nations, Eduardo del Buey, a spokesman for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, suggested that officials had long feared the possibility of harm to the peacekeepers. “As the Secretary General has said repeatedly, the spillover effects of the Syrian crisis pose a danger to the region as a whole and to the countries and the areas in the neighboring states around it, and UNDOF is no exception,” he said, using the acronym for the Golan peacekeeping mission. “They are in a zone where the spillover could be of consequence.”
The United Nations observer force in the Golan is responsible for maintaining the fragile calm between Israeli and Syrian troops at the demilitarized zone along Syria’s Golan frontier established after a cease-fire ended the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Ambassador Vitaly I. Churkin of Russia, which holds the monthly presidency of the Security Council for March, said members had been briefed about the Golan situation but that he could provide no further information on what precisely had happened. Mr. Churkin, whose government is a main supporter of the Syrian government in the conflict and a strong critic of the armed rebels, urged the captors to release the peacekeepers immediately.
The detention of the peacekeepers came less than a week after Croatia announced it was withdrawing its soldiers from the Golan force, following reports that Croatia was selling weapons that were being funneled to Syrian rebels by Saudi Arabia, a main supporter of the insurgency. The Croatian government denied the reports but said they had put the safety of the Croatian peacekeepers at risk. “They should stop this very dangerous course of action,” he told reporters.
Earlier Wednesday in London, Foreign Secretary William Hague said that Britain was prepared to supply armored all-terrain vehicles, body armor and other “nonlethal military equipment” to the Syrian political opposition, apparently nudging his government’s public support for the rebels beyond the food and medical supplies pledged last week by the United States. Linking the Golan situation to the Iraq killings two days earlier, Mr. Churkin said: “Some people are trying very hard to extend the Syrian conflict. Today there is this incident. This is no-man’s land between Syria and Israel. Somebody is trying very hard to blow this crisis up.”
“Diplomacy is taking far too long and the prospect of an immediate breakthrough is slim,” Mr. Hague said, stressing that the promised new support was designed to protect civilian foes of President Bashar al-Assad, not to arm rebel soldiers. The United Nations observer force in the Golan is responsible for maintaining the fragile calm between Israeli and Syrian troops at the demilitarized zone along Syria’s Golan frontier, established after a cease-fire ended the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
The detention of the peacekeepers came less than a week after Croatia announced it was withdrawing its soldiers from the Golan force, following reports that Croatia was selling weapons funneled to Syrian rebels by Saudi Arabia, a main supporter of the insurgency. The Croatian government denied the reports but said they had put the safety of the Croatian peacekeepers at risk.
News of the peacekeeper seizure came on a day of other precedents in the two-year-old Syrian conflict, which has left more than 70,000 people dead.
Antigovernment fighters battling military forces in the north-central city of Raqqa, where fighting has raged for days, released a video on YouTube corroborating their claims they had arrested the provincial governor and the provincial secretary general of President Bashar al-Assad’s Baath Party, which activists said were the two highest-ranking Assad loyalists captured so far. The video showed both men seated uncomfortably on an ornate couch, apparently in the governor’s palace, surrounded by insurgents.
The United Nations refugee agency in Geneva said the number of Syrians who had fled to neighboring countries surpassed the 1 million mark, coupling the announcement with a renewed appeal for more aid. “Syria is spiraling towards full-scale disaster,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, said in a statement.
In Cairo, officials at the Arab League announced that it had formally awarded Syria’s seat to the Syrian opposition coalition, a symbolically important step aimed at further disenfranchising Mr. Assad’s government. The opposition was asked to send a representative who could occupy the seat provisionally until the formation of a new Syrian government.
How soon such a representative could be chosen, however, remained unclear. The opposition coalition, representing a broad array of anti-Assad groups, has continually postponed decisions like choosing a provisional prime minister.
In London on Wednesday, Foreign Secretary William Hague said that Britain was prepared to supply armored all-terrain vehicles, body armor and other “nonlethal military equipment” to the Syrian opposition, apparently nudging his government’s public support for the rebels beyond the food and medical supplies pledged last week by the United States.
“Diplomacy is taking far too long and the prospect of an immediate breakthrough is slim,” Mr. Hague said, stressing that the promised new support was designed to protect civilian foes of President Assad, not to arm rebel soldiers.
“Each month of violence in Syria means more death, wider destruction, larger numbers of refugees, and bloodier military confrontation,” Mr. Hague told Parliament.“Each month of violence in Syria means more death, wider destruction, larger numbers of refugees, and bloodier military confrontation,” Mr. Hague told Parliament.
“The international community cannot stand still in the face of this reality.”
“Syria today has become the top destination for jihadists anywhere in the world,” Mr. Hague said, and should not “become another breeding ground for terrorists who pose a threat to our national security.”
His remarks made clear that the offer was directed primarily at civilian figures in the opposition to enable them to “move around more freely.”His remarks made clear that the offer was directed primarily at civilian figures in the opposition to enable them to “move around more freely.”
But he also said Britain would offer training “to help armed groups understand their responsibilities and obligations under international law and international human rights standards.”

Rick Gladstone reported from New York and Alan Cowell from London. Reporting was contributed by Hania Mourtada from Beirut, Lebanon;, David D. Kirkpatrick from Cairo; Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva; and Liam Stack from New York.

Additionally, he said, Britain would provide water purification, search-and-rescue gear and other equipment to “enable evidence gathering in the horrific event of chemical weapons use” by the Syrian government.

Rick Gladstone reported from New York and Alan Cowell from London. Hania Mourtada contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon, and David D. Kirkpatrick from Cairo.