March 8, 2013
UN observers march out of Syria into Israel
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A United Nations peacekeeper stands on an observation tower at the Kuneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights on March 8. Photo by REUTERS/Baz Ratner
A number of United Nations truce observers abandoned their posts in the Golan Heights and crossed the border into Israel.
Ynet reported that the observers, who serve in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone deployed in the buffer zone that runs along the border between Syria and Israel, said they had been ordered by their commanders to clear out of the area.
Israel Army Radio reported that eight observers left their posts.
On Wednesday, Syrian rebels captured and abducted 21 U.N. observers from the Philippines near the Syrian village of Jamlah, less than a mile from the border with Israel.
A spokesperson for the government of the Philippines said the rebels have pledged to hold the observers captive as long as the troops of Syrian President Bashar Assad are deployed near Jamla.
The observers who crossed into Israel signalled their intention to approach the fence and starting marching in that direction, Army Radio reported. Troops directed them to an opening and brought them in for transfer to the U.N.'s Ein Zivanit compound.
