Syrian rebels free 21 UN peacekeepers
Syrian rebels freed 21 U.N. peacekeepers on Saturday after holding them hostage for four days, ending a sudden entanglement with the world body that earned fighters trying to oust President Bashar Assad a flood of negative publicity.The development marked the end of one of the most dramatic U.N. hostage crises in years, and it followed days of intense U.N. negotiations to secure the release of the Filipino blue helmets against a backdrop of intensive fighting between Syrian forces and rebel fighters.
Activists associated with the group, the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, gave different reasons for seizing the 21 men.First they demanded that all government forces leave the area, then they suggested the peacekeepers were human shields against government attacks.They subsequently declared them "honoured guests" held for their own safety.They also released videos online, including one on Saturday of a bearded rebel commander with his arms around two peacekeepers' shoulders, flashing a V for victory sign.
“They asked us to wait for an hour as they negotiated between themselves. Then we were surprised to hear the news from a satellite channel that they had reached Jordan,” he said. “Praise God in the end that all of them were released safely.”
For its part, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a letter to the United Nations that was shared with the media that the Syrian army had held its fire in the area “out of concern for the security and safety of the U.N. forces."On Friday, the United Nations’ top peacekeeping official, Herve Ladsous, had expressed concern about the fate of the village, citing evidence that Syrian forces had been shelling the town. Syria’s U.N. envoy, Bashar al-Jaafari, denied his government was shelling the town.
Syrian rebels freed 21 U.N. peacekeepers on Saturday after holding them hostage for four days, ending a sudden entanglement with the world body that earned fighters trying to oust President Bashar Assad a flood of negative publicity.The development marked the end of one of the most dramatic U.N. hostage crises in years, and it followed days of intense U.N. negotiations to secure the release of the Filipino blue helmets against a backdrop of intensive fighting between Syrian forces and rebel fighters.
Activists associated with the group, the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, gave different reasons for seizing the 21 men.First they demanded that all government forces leave the area, then they suggested the peacekeepers were human shields against government attacks.They subsequently declared them "honoured guests" held for their own safety.They also released videos online, including one on Saturday of a bearded rebel commander with his arms around two peacekeepers' shoulders, flashing a V for victory sign.
“They asked us to wait for an hour as they negotiated between themselves. Then we were surprised to hear the news from a satellite channel that they had reached Jordan,” he said. “Praise God in the end that all of them were released safely.”
For its part, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a letter to the United Nations that was shared with the media that the Syrian army had held its fire in the area “out of concern for the security and safety of the U.N. forces."On Friday, the United Nations’ top peacekeeping official, Herve Ladsous, had expressed concern about the fate of the village, citing evidence that Syrian forces had been shelling the town. Syria’s U.N. envoy, Bashar al-Jaafari, denied his government was shelling the town.
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