Lull in Syria shelling could allow UN monitors' release

Shelling has subsided around the southern Syrian village where 21 Filipino peacekeepers have been held by rebels for three days, the head of a violence monitoring group said on Saturday, paving the way for their possible release.

The peacekeepers - part of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which has been monitoring a ceasefire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights since 1974 - were seized by the Martyrs of Yarmouk rebel brigade on Wednesday. (Reuters)