Rebel: Assad forces undermine efforts to release UN men

Abu Mahmoud, leader of the rebel force "Martyrs of the Yarmouk Brigades" responsible for the kidnapping of 21 Filipino UN observers near the Syrian village of Jamlah, said that President Bashar Assad’s forces undermined efforts to release the captives.

Earlier, the Philippine government said that rebel forces insisted Assad’s forces be withdrawn from the area, in return for the UN peacekeepers’ release. At the same time, opposition sources announced that there had been an increase in the rate of shelling by the Syrian army on Jamlah. (Roi Kais)