Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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United Nations, SANA – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday strongly condemned the attack on the Filipino troops and the continued detention of their Fijian colleagues from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan, holding “non-state armed factors,” including from Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization, responsible for these acts.
Filipino UN personnel clashed Saturday with gunmen from terrorist groups in the Golan, A few days earlier, members of terrorist organizations kidnapped 43 Fijian UN troops operating within the UNDOF.
The AFP reported that Ban demanded in a statement released by his spokesman the “immediate and unconditional release” of the UN peacekeepers and urged all parties for full cooperation with the UNDOF to that effect.
In the same context, the UN Security Council issued a statement that was unanimously endorsed by its 15 member states condemning the attacks on the UNDOF personnel.
“The members demanded the immediate and unconditional release of these peacekeepers, as well as their safe passage,” said the statement.
The Council also called upon the countries which yield an influence on the kidnappers to pressure them to release the Fijian personnel.
The AFP quoted Filipino Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala as saying all of the 75 UN Philippine personnel are safe, after a group of them came under attack by armed terrorist groups.
He added that 40 Filipino troops confronted gunmen in exchange of gunfire that lasted for seven hours, indicating that the troops finally managed to reach a UN position that is two kilometers away.
The Filipino government announced on Saturday that its UN personnel clashed with elements from armed terrorist organizations in the Golan.
Peacekeepers serving with UNDOF monitor the 1974 disengagement accord between Syria and Israel after their 1973 war. As of July 31, there are 1,223 peacekeepers from six countries – Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands, and the Philippines – serving in the force.
Ruaa. al-Jazaeri/Haifa Said
