With the fate of 44 captured UN troops from Fiji still up in the air, a major battle has erupted in the region of the Golan Heights where they are being held, as Syria’s military attempts to retake territory lost to al-Qaeda’s Jabhat al-Nusra.
Nusra took the region, along the frontier with Israel, last week, and captured the Fijian troops shortly thereafter, accusing them of “protecting Israel.” Other UN troops were attacked over the weekend, but managed to escape.
Qatar is said to be taking the lead in trying to secure the release of the Fijian troops, while the Nusra fighters are requesting humanitarian aid to be delivered to one of its territories near Damascus.
In addition, Nusra wants to be taken off the UN’s list of terrorist organizations, and also wants “compensation” paid by the UN for three of their troops killed in one of their attacks.
