Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations says Syrian militants did not return the weapons, uniforms and cars taken from 45 Fijian peacekeepers who were released last week after two weeks of captivity on the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights.
U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Wednesday that "the possession and use of U.N.-marked assets by non-U.N. people is of concern to the United Nations."
The Fijians were captured Aug. 28 by the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, who have been battling Syrian government forces in the contested buffer zone between Syria and Israel. The 1,200-strong U.N. force has increasingly been caught in the spillover from Syria's civil war.
The U.N. withdrew many other peacekeepers this past weekend. Haq said they left with all critical equipment including weapons, maps and data.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.