Rebels holding 21 UN peacekeepers near the Golan Heights in southern Syria say government forces must stop their bombardment and leave the area before their “guests” can be freed, a rebel activist said.
“They will be passed to safe hands when possible – because the area is surrounded and the Assad regime is bombarding it,” said Abu Essam Taseel, from the media office of the “Martyrs of Yarmouk” rebel brigade, which detained the Filipino peacekeepers.
Several videos were released of the peacekeepers yesterday in which they said they were being well-treated by civilians and rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad, but 24 hours after their capture in the southern village of Jamla there was no indication when they might leave.
“It’s not just a question of their safety only but the safety of the people in the area,” Taseel said, adding that the UN peacekeepers monitoring a ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights had a responsibility to keep heavy weapons out of the area.
The capture of the UN convoy just 1.5 kilometres from Israeli-held territory was another sign that Syria’s conflict, nearing its second anniversary, could spill over to neighbouring countries.
Israel says it will not “stand idle” if violence spreads to the Golan, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war, though a senior Defence Ministry official voiced confidence yesterday that the UN could secure the peacekeepers’ release, signalling that Israel would not intervene.
Wednesday’s detention of the peacekeepers by around 30 gunmen will also reinforce Western concerns that any weapons supplied to rebels fighting to overthrow Assad could end up being turned against Western interests.
Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch said rebels fighting alongside the Martyrs of Yarmouk have been seen in other videos carrying a grenade launcher that appears to be Croatian.
The UN says around 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising, which erupted in March 2011 with mainly peaceful protests against Assad and has spiralled into an increasingly sectarian conflict. (Reuters)