UNITED NATIONS, August 30 (RIA Novosti) - The United Nations peacekeepers detained in the Golan Heights are "safe and in good health," although no direct contact has been established with them, the UN said.
“[The UN] has received assurances from credible sources that the 44 peacekeepers from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force who were taken from their position on the morning of Thursday, 28 August, are safe and in good health,” the UN said.
“UNDOF has not yet had direct contact with these peacekeepers,” it added.
On Thursday, the UN Security Council issued a Press Statement demanding the release of the peacekeepers and calling upon all parties to cooperate with UNDOF to ensure full security of its personnel.
The following day, the UN said its mission UNDOF “has been informed that the intention behind those holding the peacekeepers was to remove them from an active battlefield to a safe area for their own protection.”
The UN would not confirm that Jabhat al-Nusra, named along with the Islamic State in a recent Security Council resolution, is the group detaining the peacekeepers. In the August 22 resolution, the Security Council said the peacekeepers were kept hostage "by ISIL, al-Nusra Front and all other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with Al-Qaida.”
Some 44 of detained peacekeepers are from Fiji, and the 72 restricted are from the Philippines, according to the UN.
