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The UN Security Council on Wednesday demanded the release of 45 Fijian peacekeepers held in the Golan Heights by Syrian Al-Nusra Front terrorists, according to AFP. The 15 members of the council unanimously approved a declaration condemning "in the strongest terms" the detention of the Fijians. They were captured almost a week ago, when the rebels stormed a Golan Heights crossing. The council "reiterated their call for the peacekeepers' immediate and unconditional release," adding in its statement that "there can never be any justification for attacks on or the detention of UN peacekeepers." The government of Fiji also has called...

AUCKLAND -- Fiji's battered military is aiming to find redemption amidst the dust and blood of Iraq, hopefully burying their reputation for violence and instability at home. With Australian Defence Force (ADF) aid, Fiji is to provide a 155-strong military contingent for the United Nations in Iraq ahead of January 30 elections. The ADF has provided training, transport and -- for the first time since Fiji's 2000 coup -- arms and ammunition. The Iraq deployment will be a modest operation measured against past missions for the almost 10,000 strong Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF). It could be a chance...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India says it will not send peacekeeping troops to Iraq without a United Nations mandate, rejecting a request from Washington for help in the war-torn nation. The decision came after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Hindu nationalist coalition government failed to build a domestic consensus in support of sending troops to Iraq, an old friend of India. New Delhi had earlier opposed the U.S.-led war against Iraq. "Were there to be an explicit U.N. mandate for the purpose, the government of India could consider the deployment of our troops in Iraq," foreign minister Yashwant Sinha told...

Fiji soldiers embroiled in Iraq strategy Fijian soldiers serving with the United Nations in Iraq are among those being evacuated from Baghdad ahead of the expiry of a 48-hour ultimatum by United States President George W Bush. They are being moved to Oman. Fijian troops serving with the UN in Kuwait have also been pulled out and moved to Bangladesh. However, more than 200 of the 1,500 Fijian soldiers serving with various units of the British army have taken up positions in Kuwait ahead of a possible attack on Iraq by US-led coalition forces.

Eighty former Fiji soldiers have left for Iraq to join a private armed security force. They are the first of 485 former soldiers, all linked to the Fiji Peacekeeping and Action Trustee Association, who are expected to go to Iraq. The former soldiers have been employed by a British firm to provide escorts, liaise with United Nations representatives and guard oil and power infrastructure. Few details of the arrangement with London-based Global Risks Strategies International were released and the Fijian government has refused to comment on the deployment. A former colonel and association member, Sakiusa Raivoce, organised the deployment of...