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Jordan Pix via Getty Images
Chief of Staff Mishaal al Zaben greets the 21 Filipino UN peacekeepers who were held hostage as they arrive in Amman after crossing into Jordan from Syria on Saturday.
Twenty-one United Nations peacekeepers captured by Syrian rebels and held for three days in a southern Syrian village crossed safely into neighboring Jordan on Saturday, rebels and a U.N. official in Damascus said.
The Filipino peacekeepers were taken by the Martyrs of Yarmouk rebel brigade to the border, about 10 km (6 miles) south of the village of Jamla where they had been held since being captured on Wednesday.
"They are all on the Jordanian side now and they are in good health," said Abu Mahmoud, a rebel who said he had crossed over into Jordan with them.
In the Syrian capital, Mokhtar Lamani, who heads the Damascus office of U.N.-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, confirmed that the men had crossed into Jordan.
The Jordanian government initially appeared taken by surprise by the arrival of the peacekeepers - who had been expected to be retrieved instead by a U.N. convoy inside Syria and possibly taken to Damascus.
That convoy was held up earlier on Saturday in a village north of Jamla, a rebel activist said.
Youssef Badawi / EPA
Mokhtar al-Lamani, head of the Damascus office of the UN-Arab League envoy to Syrian Lakhdar Brahimi, said that the 21 UN peacekeepers have been freed by Syrian rebels handed to the Jordan authorities.
The group - part of the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) that has been monitoring a ceasefire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights since 1974 - was seized by the Martyrs of Yarmouk rebel brigade three days ago.
They were held in Jamla, a village one mile from the Israeli-occupied Golan and 6 miles north of the Jordan border. After their capture insurgents described them as "guests" and said they would be freed once President Bashar al-Assad's forces withdrew from around Jamla and stopped shelling.
A brief truce was agreed on Saturday morning to allow for the peacekeepers' retrieval. Although the two-hour window of that ceasefire passed at midday (1000 GMT) before they could be extracted, the relative calm prevailed long enough for the rebels to take them south to Jordan.
A rescue effort on Friday was delayed by heavy bombardment and abandoned after nightfall, U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said.
Regional spillover
Syria's two-year civil war has spilled periodically across the Golan Heights ceasefire line and Syria's borders with Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey, threatening to engulf the region. The conflict began as peaceful protests, but turned violent when Assad ordered a crackdown on the demonstrations.
Ladsous warned on Friday that once the peacekeepers were freed, "we would strongly expect that there would not be retaliatory action by the Syrian armed forces over the village and its civilian population".
Syrian U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari said the army had been targeting areas outside Jamla where he said the rebels were concentrated, not the village itself. "We know for sure what we are doing and we know where the peacekeepers are," he said.
"The Syrian government forces are doing exactly what they have to do in order to bring back safely the peacekeepers, guarantee the safety and security of the inhabitants of these villages (and) get these armed group terrorists out of the area."
In several videos released on Thursday, the peacekeepers said they were being treated well by civilians and rebels.
The United Nations said the captives had been detained by about 30 rebel fighters, but Abu Issam Taseel, a Martyrs of Yarmouk activist, said the men were "guests", not hostages, and were being held for their own safety.
Under an agreement brokered by the United States in 1974, Israel and Syria are allowed a limited number of tanks and troops within 20 km of the disengagement line.
A U.N. report in December said both the Syrian army and rebels had entered the demilitarized area between Syrian and Israeli forces. It said that violence in the area showed the potential for escalation across the frontier, jeopardizing the ceasefire between the two countries.
Related:
- UN: About 20 Golan Heights peacekeepers captured by Syrian rebels
- 'Human river' of Syria refugees hits 1 million; UK to send armored vehicles to rebels
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So Obama gave the okay for $60 million in 'aid' to al queda (aka fsa) to support overthrowing the Syrian government. This same FSA then took 21 UN hostages. What a great use of our money! Glad my tax dollars are going straight to Al Queda. Surely when they take control of Syria and continue beheading more people and using more children as suicide bombers it will be a much better place.
Not too proud to be an American today... Im actually starting to wish I would have voted for Romney...
As I understand it, the problem is fairly fluid as to who is a "rebel", with some of those forces not being our friends while others are.
Should the US stay out of the Syrian situation completely? Or support the Assad regime along with their friends the Iranians? Suport the rebels//stay out completely//support the Assad regime. Those are our 3 choices.
If the US stays out completely, which I guess is Bill's choice since he apparently doesn't want to give aid to the rebels, when the rebels win control of Syria, as they most certainly will eventually, the US won't have any claim to sit at the table. Then, Bill, what will you say?
p.s., Bill---since you most assuredly didn't vote for Obama and you imply you didn't vote for Romney, you either:
(1) didn't vote but like to complain; or
(2) your vote for the NeoCon Dark Prince of Wyoming, Dick Cheney, didn't elect him.
Anyone who says they would have rather voted for Mitt Romney didn't watch the debate then. For one thing it wasn't exactly Obama it was the senate along with Senator Kerry who gave 60million dollars of aid to Rebel Held Districts! not rebels themselves, however I am sure that the terrorists are pulling a North Korea when it comes to aid and money. As for Mitt Romney did all of you forget him and the Republicans were looking forward to actually arming the rebels(terrorists) with Heavy weapons to combat the Assad Regime? What is worse? Rebels (terrorists) with medical supplies, or Rebels with tanks and rocket launchers maybe even stingers so they take out aircraft in the present and future like the Taliban in Afghanistan?
Frank, What makes you think that the Syrians will be friends even if they know we supported them in this War? What is your basis on that? The truth since my family are long time friends with another family from Syria who have been here for about 27 years now. Their other family is in the mostly Christian and Kurdish north east of Syria while some are also scattered in Damascus itself. So far from their own words talking to their family as they left Syria into Jordan and Turkey for instance. Their were protests on the state TV covering many cities and small villages. Suddenly in Holms a small detachment of Security Forces left into Holms and neighboring villages. My friend's Uncle was there in the protests at Holms when suddenly he was shocked to find that a military convoy was ambushed on the way and he said he saw with his own eyes, the soldiers being stripped of their uniform and beheaded in an act of defiance against Assad. Next couple of hours go by and Holms and three of it's surrounding villages become a battlefield with helicopter gunships, tanks, artillery, and a small ground force to stamp out this (Peaceful) Rebellion. After hearing this the Uncle traveled back to Dakarra where he told his family these simple words. The Muslim Brotherhood is back. Next day they left for Jordan. So tell me considering this is from my friends families own words which do you believe? The rebel spokesman or the people of Syria who were forced into this war by both sides of this struggle?
What do we expect from the party of unlimited spending and entitlements?
It appears that many politicians (both Democrats and Republicans) in the US, Britain, France and allies and UN and its agencies are sold out to oil rich Sunni rulers led by House of Saud, oil companies, extremist Jewish lobbys, Christian rights and their lobbyists.
It is all money, money and favors and favors!
One does not care/bother whether they are supporting our enemies like Sunni Islamist killers like al Qaida, MB, Boko Haram, Taliban, Salaffi and other ones with different labels!
Gee, a new name for hostage taking?
Wonder what types of entertainment and wonderful area delicacies they provide for their "guest" while they were there?
Agree that the article has a funny choice of words. Look at the lead in: "Twenty-one United Nations peacekeepers captured by Syrian rebels...." Captured? These were unarmed UN peacekeepers delivering supplies. I think the proper word is "kidnapped."
Saudis and Pakis are strategic allies!
At the same time, their inventions (their other side of the coin) like Sunni Islamists are after our interests/throats (Afghanistan and other places) and non-Muslims!
Can there be worse irony?
And now, Israel must prepare herself for the departure of the UN in the region.
That means preparing for the inevitable spillover of killing and war.
Already Israel has endured sporadic artillery incursions from the conflict.
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The UN is spineless when it comes to actually 'keeping the peace'.
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Yes. The UN has demonstrated that when it comes to anything in Syria, it is completely useless.
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And, in today's 'This what NBC isn't saying about the region" story:
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I am willing to bet NBC won't go near this, unless they are forced to.
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Oh, there's a shocker. Palestinian groups might demonstrate against Obama and Hamas and Islamic Jihad don't want him visting the mosque in Jerusalem.
Who'da thunk it.
And in further news, it will be dark tonight.
Steven B, you make an interesting point that the Jerusalem Post (an Israeli paper) will print Palestinian news that NBC won't?
On Russian news, I've heard another part of the story that you weren't see here>
It appears a few other Filipino peace-keepers had fled from Syria into Israel, fearing to join their countrymen in captivity.
I guess it's pretty clear why we wont see that detail here.
Obama for one is a fool at least in this instance. He wants to bring the same ray of hope with relations with the Palestinians as he does with the Syrian Rebels(terrorists). He lost his chance though back when they were seeking their state. Then America basically back hands them with sanctions and says you cannot have your independence until you make a deal with Israel and US. WE are the ones that tell you that you are entitled to your basic human rights and you are nothing without the word and authorization of the US.
Obama is no fool. Misguided perhaps, but no fool. And, I think his sympathies lie with the Palestinians and Arabs. To this end he has lent support to the Arab Spring which has led to the destruction of stable governments in the Middle East. All that has been accomplished has been to dash the economic hope of these people.
Except the Arabs he is helping in Syria are not fighting Israel, they are fighting other Arabs.
ARGO II : CIA magic frees captive UN hostages
I am sure that Ben is hurriedly crafting the screenplay.
"In the Syrian capital, Mokhtar Lamani, who heads the Damascus office of U.N.-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, confirmed that the men had crossed into Jordan."
Syria is another problem invented by one-way traffic intolerant oil rich Sunni rulers led by House of Saud and their other Sunni Arab League nations.
There was rebellion of Shiites against the despotic and highly corrupt Sunni ruler of Bahrain.
Brave Sunni rulers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwaiti, UAE and other Arab League nations sent their forces and just quelled the Shiites rebellion in no time.
All of a sudden, these seventh century fountainheads of Sunni Islamic haters and killers, remembered “human rights violations” in Syria.
So the Sunni rulers of Arab League sent “human rights” group to Syria.
The head of the Saudi and their Arab League observers to Syria was a Sudanese Gen. The brave Gen was responsible for the genocides of at least 300000 Christians in Darfur!
Still House of Saud ruler and his 5000 princes and princesses and other Sunni rulers seventh century desert dances did not work.
Later they outsourced their dirty work to Turkey.
You see: Turkey is a strategic NATO ally and too much of Turkey’s seventh century Islamist Erdogan’s dances mean US, Britain and other NATO forces members have to pitch in.
What a way to outsource their dirty jobs to NATO forces just like Iraqi wars to save Kuwaiti, Saudi and other “oil rich” rulers!!!