Middle East

Fiji withdraws claim that 45 UN peacekeepers to be released

In clarification, ministry of information calls talks over Golan Heights capture ‘progressive’

UN peacekeepers behind class of their armored vehicles as they are entering their base next Quneitra crossing point, the only border crossing between Syria and Israel on Golan Heights. Photograph: Atef Safadi/EPA

Wed Sep 10 2014 - 21:21

Fiji today rowed back on its assertion that 45 of its peacekeepers in the Golan Heights, captured by Syrian militants nearly two weeks ago, were about to be released.

The clarification, posted on the ministry of information’s Facebook page, came hours after the ministry had posted a cryptic news update on the page that the troops would “soon be released”, with a promise of more details to follow. But the post was later deleted with no explanation.

The Nusra Front, a militant Syrian insurgent group affiliated with al-Qaeda, seized the Fijians on August 28th, describing the action as a retaliation for what it called the UN failure to help Syrians victimised by the civil war, now in its fourth year.

In its clarification, the ministry of information said Fiji's ambassador at large, Maj Gen Ioane Naivalurua, was working to secure the release of the peacekeepers and that "talks with all authorities have been progressive".

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No timetable

The statement quoted Fiji’s army commander, Brig Gen Mosese Tikoitoga, as saying he was confident that the diplomacy would “secure the safe release of the 45 peacekeeping troops”. No timetable was given, however.

The Fijians are part of the 1,223-member UN Disengagement Observer Force that has been policing the demarcation line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since 1974.

Troops from Ireland, India, Nepal, the Netherlands and the Philippines are also in the force. The Golan region was largely peaceful until the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, and violence has spilled over multiple times.

Irish troops

A battalion of Irish peacekeeping troops is stationed in the region. In recent weeks Irish troops were forced to go to the aid of Filipino soldiers taking part in the UN mission after they were trapped by al-Qaeda- linked rebels in a post they were manning.

The Government is now re-evaluating the role of Irish troops in the region.

Since independence from Britain in 1970, Fiji has sent more soldiers on UN peacekeeping missions than any other nation, on a per capita basis. – (New York Times service/ Reuters)

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