A group of around 30 armed Syrian rebels attacked a convoy of UN Disengagement Observer Force troops along the Syria-Israel border today, capturing 21 of them. The troops, which are supposed to monitor the ceasefire between Syria and Israel from 1974, are believed to be from the Philippines.
UN Peacekeeping Chief Herve Ladsous says that the group, which called itself the Martyrs of Yarmouk, have close ties with a number of rebel factions within Syria, and the UN Security Council is calling for their unconditional release.
Initial reports from rebel factions were that the kidnappings were aimed at demanding the UN Security Council impose regime change in Syria, but since then the video from the specific group involved has accused the UN troops of being in league with Assad and demanding that the Assad government withdraw from a disputed village in Golan.
If Assad doesn’t cede the village to rebel fighters within 24 hours, the rebels threatened to treat the UN troops as “prisoners of war.” Syrian rebel factions have regularly executed captured troops, though it is unclear if they would immediately execute the UN troops in this case.
Biggest PR slip yet for the rebels. But watch now how some American politician will condemn Assad for allowing this to happen.
These people are so desperate that they even willing to capture their own family demanding weapons from usa to continue this war. Arab league needs to be shamed and very much embarrassed to see their reputation just walks out if this world.
Jason,
The internationally recognized Israel-Syria border is just yards east of Lake Tiberius, the 1967 line.
Later, when Israel launched an attack on Syria and occupied the Golan Heights, the frontier moved east and became known as the 1974 Ceasefire Line, or the Purple Line.
The Purple Line runs through the ethnically cleansed Syrian city of Qunaitra.
The Purple Line is made up of two parts, Line Alpha and Line Bravo. Alpha runs west of the DMZ, while Bravo runs east of the DMZ, closest to Syria.
"If Assad doesn’t cede the village to rebel fighters within 24 hours, the rebels threatened to treat the UN troops as “prisoners of war.” Syrian rebel factions have regularly executed captured troops, (…)"
If Assad cedes the village, he's an idiot. It will be a huge propaganda victory for him if the rebels execute the 21 UN soldiers. It will be proof that they are criminals. Not that any proof is needed, in my humble opinion.
The rebels execute their prisoners. And some idiots want the West to give them weapons?
UN troops should not be there at all. The Syria conflict is really the Islamic Civil War. Our policy should be to keep them fighting, encourage maximum bloodshed, and to ensure that neither side can win. This means if one side gains the upper hand, we help the other side – and back and forth. The Iran-Iraq war was the best historical analogy to the current situation.
"Our policy should be to keep them fighting, encourage maximum bloodshed, and to ensure that neither side can win."
This would only ensure that both sides hate the USA and the NATO countries. It would be almost as disastrous, in the long run, as direct military intervention.
Syria is no threat to the West. If her neighbors, such as Turkey and Israel, feel threatened, it's up to them to act. And the EU shouldn't help Turkey either. Turkish occupation troops must evacuate north Cyprus first. NATO has outlived its usefulness and should be dismantled.
As to helping Israel, it would be good if the USA had a referendum on this, with every American going to the polls and voting on aid to Israel. But the American politicians will never allow this.
Amazing! What the f*** happened to antiwar.com? Just look at the title, it sound s just like the corporate media. Would they have used the word 'capture' if it had been Al Qaeda in yemen or Iraq or Afghanistan or Hamas or Hezbollah? No the would have used the correct word – kidnap.
These people talk about international community all the time..,it seams that do have some respect for their saying but not the united nation which consist of international gathering of countries.., it also seams that they only recognizing the community of the international community who have hired them as killers and destroyers or if you will mercenaries.
What side of the border were those UN troops on? If they were on the Syrian side, the question is why? What are they doing there?