18 Nov 2013

Fiji soldier on Golan Heights suffers spinal injuries after vehicle overturned

7:29 pm on 18 November 2013

A Fijian soldier remains in hospital in Israel with spinal injuries after an incident involving an armoured vehicle during a UN mission on the Golan Heights.

The Fiji government says three other Fijian soldiers serving with the UN Disengagement Observer Force sustained minor injuries in the incident over the weekend.

In a statement the government says they have been released from hospital.

It says the vehicle carrying the soldiers overturned and the driver was among the injured

The soldiers from Number Three company of Fiji's First Infantry Regiment are among 500 troops serving on the UN force on the Israel-Syria border.

They replaced troops from Croatia, Japan and Austria who pulled out due to fighting spilling over from the Syrian conflict.

The prime minister of Fiji, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, earlier warned the troops could be facing their most dangerous mission so far.