The U.N. said Friday it had been reassured that 44 peacekeepers detained by militants fighting the Syrian army were safe and in good health.
The office of Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon said "credible sources" — whom it didn't identify — had gotten word to the agency that the peacekeepers, all of them from Fiji, were removed Thursday morning for their own safety as fighting intensified in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the Syrian border zone of Al Qunaytirah. But it added that it "has not yet had direct contact with these peacekeepers," whose number the U.N. had reported earlier as 43.
IN-DEPTH
- Militants Fighting Against Syrian Army Seize U.N. Peacekeepers in Golan Heights
- U.S. Flying Surveillance Missions Over Syria for Possible Airstrike
