(VOVworld) – 43 UN peacekeeping officials were kidnapped in the Golan Heights in Syria by an armed group.

Members of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in armoured vehicles cross from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights into Syrian-controlled territory on August 28, 2014. (Photo: AFP)

The UN has confirmed the story and said it will undertake all necessary measures to rescue the officials. The abduction took place when the Al-Nusra front, a branch of Al-Qaeda operating in Syria, seized control of the border region of Quneitra.
The UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Golan Heights was established in May, 1974, under a UN resolution after Israel and Syria agreed to settle their conflicts in the Golan Heights. Their main tasks are to ensure and supervise the implementation of the Israel-Syria truce. The UNDOF currently deploys some 1,200 officials in Golan, mostly from Fiji, India, and Ireland. The number of officials is decreasing due to growing threats of violence.