BEIRUT/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. peacekeepers monitoring the ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights have halted patrols after rebels detained 21 observers for three days last week, diplomats said on Thursday.
The seizure of the unarmed observers, all Filipinos, highlighted the vulnerability of the 1,000-member U.N. Disengagement Observer Force to the growing violence in Syria. Diplomats in New York expressed concern that the future of UNDOF, whose mission began in 1974, may now be in doubt.