UN hopes for speedy release of Golan peacekeepers

The head of U.N. peacekeeping on Friday said that the 21 peacekeepers captured by an armed group on Wednesday in the Golan Heights are still in captivity but hopes are rising for their speedy release. “Our 21 peacekeepers are detained in the village of Al Jamlah,â€‌ Herve Ladsous said. “Apparently they are safe, they have been spread into five or four locations within that village in the basement of various houses.â€‌ “That particular village is subject to intense shelling by the Syrian armed forces,â€‌ Ladsous said. “Of course we are working … in the area of operation, people in the region, here in the Secretariat, to secure their release under good conditions as quickly as possible.â€‌ Ladsous said the United Nations is hoping for a brief cease-fire so that the troops can be released. He said he also hopes the village will not be retaliated against by government forces afterward. “As of now there is, perhaps, a hope, but I have to be extremely cautious because it is not done yet. But there is a possibility that a cease-fire of a few hours can intervene which will allow for people to be released,â€‌ the peacekeeping chief said. “Needless to say, if that were to happen, as we all hope, we would strongly expect that there would not be retaliatory action by the Syrian armed forces over the village and its civilian population after our people have left,â€‌ Ladsous said.