Civil War In Syria -- News Updates March 8, 2013

U.N. Peacekeepers Still Held by Syrian Rebels -- New York Times

A group of United Nations peacekeepers from the Philippines who were seized in the disputed Golan Heights region between Syria and Israel two days ago, remained in captivity early on Friday as their captors pressed demands for a redeployment of government forces nearby, the Filipino authorities said.

The rebels had offered assurances on Thursday of the 21 peacekeepers’ well-being and appeared to back away from threats to hold them as hostages. But Raul Hernandez, the spokesman for the Philippines Foreign Ministry, said on Friday that the insurgents were still pressing for Syrian government forces to move away from the area around Al Jamlah, the village where the international troops were seized on Wednesday.

“We are intensifying our negotiations with the rebel group,” Mr. Hernandez said.

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More News On Syria's Civil War

Syria Live Blog -- Al Jazeera
Thousands Flee Northern Syria After Latest Airstrikes -- NPR

Al-Qaida is not yet at Syria’s gates -- Haaretz
Radicals gaining a foothold in Syria -- Gulf News
Syria Spillover Worries Iraqi Officials -- Voice of America
Syria opposition to pick interim PM next week -- Al Jazeera

Syrian Shelling Forces UN Rescue Convoy to Retreat -- Voice of America
UN says there’s possibility of cease-fire to free 21 peacekeepers held by Syrian rebels -- Washington Post/AP
Syrian army shells hold up UN retrieval of peacekeepers -- Reuters
UN peacekeepers pull out of Syrian-Israeli DMZ as civil war edges closer -- Christian Science Monitor

Arab League allows members to aid Syrian rebels -- Haaretz
Arab League says members free to offer Syria rebels arms -- Reuters
Arab League allows member states to arm Syrian opposition -- Al Arabiya

Russia FM says Syria president ‘not bluffing’ about staying put; rebels hold onto UN troops -- Washington Post/AP
Syria crisis: Russia won't pressure Assad, says Lavrov -- BBC
Russia won't tell Assad to go, sees flexibility among his foes -- Reuters
Lavrov: Russia won't pressure Assad -- UPI

Syria’s Assad hails turkey anti-Erdogan opposition -- Al Arabiya
Turkey: Opposition Party Lost on the Road to Damascus -- Eurasianet.org

Syrian state media says authorities have discovered Israeli spying devices in coastal region -- Washington Post/AP
Syria says uncovers Israeli spy equipment near coast -- Reuters
Israeli spy equipment allegedly discovered along Syrian coast -- Israel Yahom

Syria's healthcare system has collapsed, NGO says -- CBC
Women Fleeing Syrian Rape Hell -- Daily Beast
Syria's women: Fighting a war on two fronts -- CNN
1 million refugees have fled Syria, UN says -- CBC/AP
Terror as massive gas explosion rips through Syrian refugee camp -- Daily Mail
What it's like growing up in Syria: Art class pictures show tanks, rubble and buildings on fire -- Daily Mail

Economics alone could destroy Syria - former minister -- Al Bawaba
Over the ruins – The Syrian civil war bursts its banks -- Jonathan Spyer, Jerusalem Post
Syria: Starved For Beans And Bullets -- Strategy Page
Syria's Continuing Civil War -- Council On Foreign Relations