UN peackeepers seized by Syrian rebels 'head for freedom'
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DAMASCUS (AFP) - Filipino United Nations peacekeepers seized by Syrian rebels on the Golan were being taken on Saturday to the border with Jordan where they will be freed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said.
"The peacekeepers have been transferred from the (Golan) village of Jamla, where they were held, towards the Yarmuk valley on the frontier with Jordan ahead of their release," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
He was unable to say when the 21 soldiers from the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) would be freed, or whether they would be handed over to the Jordanian authorities, the UN or the Red Cross.
On Friday, citing the Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade which captured them, he said a deal had been reached between the Syrian regime and the UN for a truce between 0800 and 1000 GMT on Saturday to allow the Red Cross to evacuate the men.
