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| U.N. Starts Talks to Free Peacekeepers Held by Syria Rebels | U.N. Starts Talks to Free Peacekeepers Held by Syria Rebels |
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| The United Nations was reported to be negotiating on Thursday with insurgent fighters from Syria who seized a group of United Nations troops from the Philippines on patrol in the disputed Golan Heights region between Syria and Israel and threatened to treat them as prisoners of war. Their capture signaled an abrupt escalation in the Syrian conflict that entangled international peacekeepers for the first time. | The United Nations was reported to be negotiating on Thursday with insurgent fighters from Syria who seized a group of United Nations troops from the Philippines on patrol in the disputed Golan Heights region between Syria and Israel and threatened to treat them as prisoners of war. Their capture signaled an abrupt escalation in the Syrian conflict that entangled international peacekeepers for the first time. |
| There was no immediate indication when the 21 captives, who were seized on Wednesday, might be set free but the authorities in Manila said they were being treated as “visitors and guests” and had not been harmed. | There was no immediate indication when the 21 captives, who were seized on Wednesday, might be set free but the authorities in Manila said they were being treated as “visitors and guests” and had not been harmed. |
| “The negotiations are ongoing,” said Raul Hernandez, a spokesman for Philippines Foreign Ministry. “This is between the U.N. peacekeeping force and the group leader of this rebel force. We have been informed that they are unharmed and for the time being they are being treated as visitors and guests.” | “The negotiations are ongoing,” said Raul Hernandez, a spokesman for Philippines Foreign Ministry. “This is between the U.N. peacekeeping force and the group leader of this rebel force. We have been informed that they are unharmed and for the time being they are being treated as visitors and guests.” |
| A spokesman for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group, said on Thursday that the captors had “assured us they are not going to harm the hostages in any way and they’re treating them as guests.” | A spokesman for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group, said on Thursday that the captors had “assured us they are not going to harm the hostages in any way and they’re treating them as guests.” |
| The Obervatory, which is based in Britain and has a network of opposition contacts in Syria, also reported “clashes” between government troops and rebels on Thursday on the northern outskirts of the village of Al Jamlah, close to where the Filipino soldiers were seized. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the report. | |
| As the 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 that members of the Golan peacekeeping mission, officially known as the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, had never before been taken by any of the combatants in the conflict. | As the 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 that members of the Golan peacekeeping mission, officially known as the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, had never before been taken by any of the combatants in the conflict. |
| Separately, Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian aid organization, said Thursday that Syria’s once-efficient health care network had broken down, with patients treated in caves and basements as large numbers of hospitals closed and medical facilities became tools “in the military strategies of the parties to the conflict.” | Separately, Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian aid organization, said Thursday that Syria’s once-efficient health care network had broken down, with patients treated in caves and basements as large numbers of hospitals closed and medical facilities became tools “in the military strategies of the parties to the conflict.” |
| The report, issued in New York, added to a catalog of woes this week as the number of refugees fleeing the country exceeded a million and the schools system was reported to have collapsed. | The report, issued in New York, added to a catalog of woes this week as the number of refugees fleeing the country exceeded a million and the schools system was reported to have collapsed. |
| “Medical aid is being targeted, hospitals destroyed, and medical personnel captured,” said Marie-Pierre Allié, the president of Doctors without Borders. Josephine Guerrero, a spokeswoman for the department at the United Nations that oversees the Golan operation, said the peacekeepers were detained near an observation post that had been evacuated over the past weekend after what she called “heavy combat in proximity” in the southern part of the area they control. The peacekeepers, in a convoy of trucks, had returned to investigate damage to the post when they were taken by about 30 armed rebels. | “Medical aid is being targeted, hospitals destroyed, and medical personnel captured,” said Marie-Pierre Allié, the president of Doctors without Borders. Josephine Guerrero, a spokeswoman for the department at the United Nations that oversees the Golan operation, said the peacekeepers were detained near an observation post that had been evacuated over the past weekend after what she called “heavy combat in proximity” in the southern part of the area they control. The peacekeepers, in a convoy of trucks, had returned to investigate damage to the post when they were taken by about 30 armed rebels. |
| Ms. Guerrero said that the peacekeeping mission was “dispatching a team to assess the situation and attempt a resolution,” and that the Syrian authorities had been asked to help. | Ms. Guerrero said that the peacekeeping mission was “dispatching a team to assess the situation and attempt a resolution,” and that the Syrian authorities had been asked to help. |
| The Philippine government said Thursday that it had been told by the United Nations that 21 of its peacekeepers were detained. | The Philippine government said Thursday that it had been told by the United Nations that 21 of its peacekeepers were detained. |
| President Benigno S. Aquino III said he believed the U.N. peacekeepers would be viewed by both sides in the Syrian conflict as a “benign presence, so we don’t expect any further untoward incident to happen.” | President Benigno S. Aquino III said he believed the U.N. peacekeepers would be viewed by both sides in the Syrian conflict as a “benign presence, so we don’t expect any further untoward incident to happen.” |
| Foreign Minister Albert F. del Rosario told reporters that the authorities in Manila were working “very closely” with the United Nations, the United States, Britain, France and Germany “for the early and safe release of the Filipino peacekeepers.” | Foreign Minister Albert F. del Rosario told reporters that the authorities in Manila were working “very closely” with the United Nations, the United States, Britain, France and Germany “for the early and safe release of the Filipino peacekeepers.” |
| A video uploaded on YouTube by a group that identified itself as the Martyrs of Yarmouk claimed responsibility on Wednesday and said the peacekeepers would be held until Syrian government forces withdrew from the area around Al Jamlah, the site of the weekend clashes. The video does not show any of the captives, but United Nations vehicles are visible. | A video uploaded on YouTube by a group that identified itself as the Martyrs of Yarmouk claimed responsibility on Wednesday and said the peacekeepers would be held until Syrian government forces withdrew from the area around Al Jamlah, the site of the weekend clashes. 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.” | 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.” |
| The threat underscored the widening risk that the Syria conflict is destabilizing the Middle East, and raised new concerns about the agendas of some Syrian insurgent groups, just as Western nations, including the United States, were grappling over whether to arm them. | The threat underscored the widening risk that the Syria conflict is destabilizing the Middle East, and raised new concerns about the agendas of some Syrian insurgent groups, just as Western nations, including the United States, were grappling over whether to arm them. |
| The seizure of the peacekeepers was the second serious war-related Syria border problem this week. 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 seizure of the peacekeepers was the second serious war-related Syria border problem this week. 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. |
| 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. | 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.” | “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.” |
| Ambassador Vitaly I. Churkin of Russia, which holds the monthly presidency of the Security Council for March, said that members had been briefed about the Golan situation but that he could provide no further information on what precisely had happened. | Ambassador Vitaly I. Churkin of Russia, which holds the monthly presidency of the Security Council for March, said that 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. “They should stop this very dangerous course of action,” he told reporters. | 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. “They should stop this very dangerous course of action,” he told reporters. |
| 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.” | 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.” |
| With a force of 1,011 troops contributed by Austria, Croatia, India and the Philippines, 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. | With a force of 1,011 troops contributed by Austria, Croatia, India and the Philippines, 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 its peacekeepers at risk. It is unclear which country or countries will replace the departing Croatians. | 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 its peacekeepers at risk. It is unclear which country or countries will replace the departing Croatians. |
| News of the peacekeepers’ seizure coincided with other milestones in the two-year Syrian conflict, which has left more than 70,000 people dead. | |
| The United Nations refugee agency in Geneva said on Wednesday the number of Syrians who had fled to neighboring countries surpassed the one million mark, coupling the announcement with a renewed appeal for more aid. “Syria is spiraling toward full-scale disaster,” the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees, António Guterres, said in a statement. | |
| Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday that Syria’s hospitals in areas under rebel control “are being set up or transformed into Free Syrian Army hospitals” or hospitals established with the goal of “supporting the revolution.” As a result, they are at risk of becoming targets and civilians are rarely accepted. | Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday that Syria’s hospitals in areas under rebel control “are being set up or transformed into Free Syrian Army hospitals” or hospitals established with the goal of “supporting the revolution.” As a result, they are at risk of becoming targets and civilians are rarely accepted. |
| “Opposition military bases have been established close to some makeshift hospitals — even, in some cases, in the same building. These hospitals are at serious risk of being caught in the middle of fighting, or even directly hit in an attack,” the report said. | “Opposition military bases have been established close to some makeshift hospitals — even, in some cases, in the same building. These hospitals are at serious risk of being caught in the middle of fighting, or even directly hit in an attack,” the report said. |
| “According to the Syrian authorities, 57 percent of public hospitals in the country have been damaged and 36 percent are no longer functional. For a complete picture of the devastation, though, makeshift hospitals set up by the opposition and subsequently destroyed by the army should also be added to the tally,” Doctors Without Borders said. | “According to the Syrian authorities, 57 percent of public hospitals in the country have been damaged and 36 percent are no longer functional. For a complete picture of the devastation, though, makeshift hospitals set up by the opposition and subsequently destroyed by the army should also be added to the tally,” Doctors Without Borders said. |
Rick Gladstone reported from New York, and Alan Cowell from London. Reporting was contributed by Floyd Whaley from Manila; Liam Stack from New York; Hania Mourtada from Beirut, Lebanon; David D. Kirkpatrick from Cairo; and Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva. | Rick Gladstone reported from New York, and Alan Cowell from London. Reporting was contributed by Floyd Whaley from Manila; Liam Stack from New York; Hania Mourtada from Beirut, Lebanon; David D. Kirkpatrick from Cairo; and Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva. |