MOSCOW. March 7 (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has branded "extreme cynicism" the taking of UN peacekeepers by Syrian militants in the Golan Heights.
"The taking of UN peacekeepers hostage in Syria is extreme cynicism. No one has ever supported such steps. Obviously, militants would stop at nothing," he tweeted on Thursday.
The militants posted a video on YouTube to claim they had seized UN observers in the Golan Heights.
Updated reports said some 20 UNDOF peacekeepers were captured. A man who identified himself as a member of the "Martyrs of Yarmouk" brigade said the peacekeepers would not be released until the withdrawal of forces of the regime of Bashar al-Assad from the outskirts of the village of Jamla.
The UN Security Council issued a statement on Wednesday to demand the immediate and unconditional release of the UN peacekeepers.