Fiji's UN peacekeepers in Golan to be released soon

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A group of 45 UN peacekeepers from Fiji taken hostage in the Golan Heights two weeks ago by Syrian Al-Nusra Front rebels will be released soon, the Fiji government said Wednesday.

Details of when the men will be released and their wellbeing were not immediately available.

The peacekeepers were captured when they were ordered to surrender after rebels stormed a Golan Heights crossing.

The UN sent a specialist negotiating team from New York to hold talks with the rebels, who moved the Fijians to an undisclosed location after taking them hostage.

The Fijian military revealed their demands included the removal of the Al-Nusra Front from a UN terror blacklist and humanitarian aid for a town just outside Damascus which is a stronghold of the rebels.

Unconfirmed reports in Fiji's media said the hostage takers also wanted the release of Abu Mussab al-Suri, also known as Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, an Al-Qaeda leader who was arrested in Pakistan in 2005 and is now being held by Syrian authorities.

The Fijians are part of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which has been stationed in the Golan Heights since 1974 to monitor a ceasefire between Israel and Syria.

There are currently 1,200 peacekeepers from the Philippines, Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal and the Netherlands.