MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti) – A group of UN peacekeepers from Fiji, captured in the Golan Heights two weeks ago, have been released, the organization confirmed on Thursday.
"All the 45 peacekeepers are in good condition and will proceed back to Camp Foar for medical assessment," the UN said in a statement.
The UN peacekeepers were released at the Quneitra crossing point in the Syrian-controlled part of the Golan Heights.
The Fijian Ministry of Information posted a statement about the peacekeepers' release earlier in the day, but the country's government later denied the information.
In late August, a group of militants, presumably of Syrian origin, captured 45 members of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) mission from Fiji.
They also blocked 72 peacekeepers from the Philippines in the disputed region of the Golan Heights, an area of clashes between militants and the Syrian army. Later all the Filipino peacekeepers managed to break out of encirclement.
The UNDOF peacekeeping mission on the Golan Heights has been monitoring a 1974 ceasefire between Israel and Syria following the war of 1973. Currently the mission consists of 1,223 troops from Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands and the Philippines.
