All the Philippine UN peacekeepers trapped by Islamist militants on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights were moved to a secure place, the UN and the Philippines said yesterday.

The UN said the 40 peacekeepers left during a ceasefire agreed with “armed elements” in the area shortly after (Saturday) midnight local time and were moved to a safe place.

In Manila, General Gregorio Catapang, the Philippines’ armed forces chief, told a news conference that Israel and Syria helped in what was the “greatest escape” of Filipino troops after engaging about 100 Islamist militants surrounding them in a seven-hour firefight.

The troops escaped in the middle of the night while the rebels were sleeping, he said.

Israel and Syria helped in what was the ‘greatest escape’

“This attack prompted the UNDOF to reposition our troops to a more secure position within the mission area,” Catapang said, referring to the UN peacekeeping force that has monitored the disengagement zone between Israel and Syria since 1974, following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

“Currently, Filipino peacekeepers from both Position 68 and 69 have been successfully repositioned to Camp Ziuoani.”

On Saturday, 32 peacekeepers were rescued from Islamists who fired at their post and trapped them for two days, the UN said.

Catapang said Irish UNDOF troops helped in the rescue. It was not known if any rebels were killed or wounded in the operation.

Late on Saturday, UN diplomatic sources said militants had reinforced their siege of the 40 peacekeepers trapped at Position 68.

Colonel Roberto Ancan, head of the Philippine military’s peacekeeping operations centre, said Syrian government forces fired artillery at the rebels, weakening their positions surrounding the peacekeepers. None of the peacekeepers were wounded, he said.

The UN press office said in a statement that “shortly after midnight local time, during a ceasefire agreed with the armed elements, all the 40 Filipino peacekeepers from UN Position 68 left the position. The 40 peacekeepers arrived in a safe location one hour later”.

Another UN statement issued in New York on Saturday said UNDOF had evacuated two observation posts after one of them came under fire and moved 11 staff to a safe location.

Earlier on Saturday, a Reuters cameraman spotted 11 UN armoured vehicles returning to their base in Israeli-controlled territory about 12 hours after the peacekeepers came under fire.

“All 32 Filipino personnel from this position have been extricated and are now safe,” the UN press office said in a statement issued in New York.

“The UN peacekeepers returned fire and prevented the attackers from entering the position.”

Separately, 44 UNDOF peacekeepers from Fiji were detained by militants eight kilometres away from the Philippine troops on Thursday and remain missing.

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