47 UN Peacekeepers Abducted By Syrian Rebels

Syrian rebels have captured 47 personnel  from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) during fighting in the Golan Heights area between Syrian government forces and Al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda linked group, on Thursday.

The peacekeepers were abducted  during a "period of increased fighting between armed elements and the Syrian Arab Armed Forces," the office of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement, reports Haaretz.com.

The UN statement also revealed that  another 81 peacekeepers were "currently being restricted to their positions in the vicinity of Ar Ruwayhinah and Burayqah." Details are still hazy but some of the UN  members include soldiers from the Philippines.

Intense skirmishes are taking place on the Golan Heights between various militant groups and the Syrian military. Opposition fighters captured the Quneitra crossing point on the disputed border between Syria and Israel, reports Haaretz.com. The crossing point is controlled by the UN peacekeepers.

The peacekeeping force was set up to monitor the crossing after a 1974 agreement between Syria and Israel after it took over the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967. Philippines has a 331-strong force stationed in the region there. Just recently the government had revealed that they were planning to recall their force as the area was coming under constant fire due to the civil strife in Syria.

News of the kidnapping came after the Islamic State took control of the  air base in Tabqa in Raqqa and executed scores of seized Syrian army soldiers, which  was reported by a group monitoring the region , according to the Telegraph.

Al-Nusra is an off shoot of the al-Qaeda but is considered more moderate and not too bloodthirsty.

 The United Nations said in a statement that it  "is making every effort to secure the release of the detained peacekeepers."