US: Al-Nusra Front detained UN peacekeepers in Golan Heights

WASHINGTON - The United States on Thursday accused the Al-Qaeda-affiliate Al-Nusra Front of detaining 43 members of a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights, near Syria's border with Israel.
 
"The United States strongly condemns the detention of UN peacekeepers and ongoing violence targeting the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights by non-state armed groups, including UN Security Council-designated terrorist group Al-Nusra Front," US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
 
Washington demanded the "unconditional and immediate release" of the "blue helmets" after the armed groups forced the peacekeepers, from Fiji, to disarm and then took them hostage near Quneitra crossing.
 
Syrian rebels, including Al-Nusra Front fighters, stormed the crossing on Wednesday, sparking an exchange of gunfire with Israeli troops.

81 Filipino peacekeepers
 
Eighty-one Filipino peacekeepers refused the rebels' order to disarm, and they were locked in a standoff, UN and Filipino defense department officials said.
 
The UN Security Council also strongly condemned the abduction and called for the unconditional release of the Fijian peacekeepers.
 
A UN spokesman earlier said it was unclear which group had staged the attack.
 
UN officials noted that the peacekeepers monitoring the armistice line between Israel and Syria were detained twice last year and released safely.
 
Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the plateau has been tense, with a growing number of rockets and mortar rounds hitting the Israeli side, mostly stray, prompting occasional armed responses. — Agence France-Presse

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