75 Philippine U.N. peacekeepers defy Syria rebels after 43 Fijians seized

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

MANILA —

Dozens of heavily armed Philippine peacekeepers defied Syrian rebels on Friday in a Golan Heights standoff, hours after the fighters took hostage 43 Fijian soldiers there, the Filipinos’ commander said.

Seventy-five Filipino troops were defending two fortified posts in the U.N.-patrolled zone after armed groups surrounded them on Thursday and demanded they give up their weapons, Colonel Roberto Ancan told reporters in Manila.

Ancan, the commander of the Philippines’ peacekeeping operations division, said no shots had been fired during the stand-off, but that his troops were prepared to engage in combat.

“We can use deadly force in defense of the U.N. facilities,” Ancan said.

“I (would) just like to emphasise our troops are well-armed, they are well-trained… they are well-disciplined warrior peacekeepers.”

The military said the soldiers were occupying U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) posts about four kilometers apart in the buffer zone between Syria and Israel that was created after a 1974 ceasefire.

The U.N. earlier said 81 Filipino peacekeepers were surrounded, but Ancan said there were only 40 Filipinos in one post and 35 in the other.

On Wednesday, Syrian rebels, including militants from the al-Qaida affiliate Al-Nusra Front, stormed one section of the buffer zone and exchanged fire with Israeli troops.

A day later, the fighters captured 43 Fijians, forcing them to surrender their weapons, then taking them hostage.

Ancan said the rebels used an English-speaking Fijian hostage to relay their demand to the Filipino peacekeepers, who refused and stood their ground.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino described the situation in the Golan Heights as “tense”.

But, in brief comments to reporters, Aquino sought to calm fears about the fate of the troops.

“So far, we should not worry. The news is that the situation looks stable,” Aquino said.

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometers of the Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War, then annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.

The U.N. peacekeeping force has been stationed there since 1974 to monitor a ceasefire between Israel and Syria.

There are currently 1,200 UNDOF peacekeepers: from the Philippines, Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal and the Netherlands.

75 Philippine U.N. peacekeepers defy Syria rebels after 43 Fijians seized ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

Why don't they use deadly force when Israel attacks UN run schools and hospitals

Quite surprised at their statement "We can use Deadly force" to protect UN assets

Quite interesting indeed

 

[Star Wars]

This is looking very bad for Singha. A few things need to be cleared up, as the reports are conflicting.

1) What exact orders did he give to the Fijians? Some account report they were ordered to surrender.
2) What exact orders did he give to the Filippinos? There is a direct conflict here in the reporting - Singha says he ordered them not to fire, the Filippinos say he ordered them to surrender. I am not sure what he expect to happen if they did not fire - then a single kid with an AK could "overrun" them, as they are effectively unable to mount any resistance whatsoever.
.

Singha is fine , he is being actively backed by U.N body and has a very productive history with U.N . Its Philippinos troops who bypassed the chain of command and put the lives of everyone at risk .This is a a U.N peace keeping force ,you are not supposed to start shooting . Besides U.N has already told Fijians were not asked to hand over weapons ..

At the moment, he looks like he is colluding with Al-Nusra. He has handed them hostages, and tried to hand them more

Indian Sikh General Colluding with an Islamic extremist group in providing UN troops as hostages to rebels ?? Did you really think before writing something that retarded ?

 

[Zero_wing]

Singha is fine , he is being actively backed by U.N body and has a very productive history with U.N . Its Philippinos troops who bypassed the chain of command and put the lives of everyone at risk .This is a a U.N peace keeping force ,you are not supposed to start shooting . Besides U.N has already told Fijians were not asked to hand over weapons ..



Indian Sikh General Colluding with an Islamic extremist group in providing UN troops as hostages to rebels ?? Did you really think before writing something that retarded ?

Oh really sir its filipino by the way and why our troops be less important than others in UN ? and what are you talking about if the UN command counter attack those terrorist they would will never tried this again they have the right to defend themselves they have weapons and yet the Indian commander ordered his troops not to open fire in clearly an attack on the UN for what is that logical? why be armed in the first place? So please stop defending this guy he was a fool to give in to the terrorist

 

[WuMaoCleverbot]

U.N. peacekeepers in Golan freed
By Joe Sterling and Roba Alhenawi, CNN
September 12, 2014 -- Updated 0143 GMT (0943 HKT)

(CNN) -- The 45 U.N. peacekeepers seized in the Golan Heights have been freed and are in good condition, the United Nations said Thursday.

The peacekeepers -- all from Fiji -- were captured two weeks ago by the al-Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliate, in the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied territory.

The personnel were handed over to the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force. A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said discussions had been ongoing with captors by "various parties" at "various levels" to obtain the peacekeepers' release.

The U.N. Disengagement Observer Force has overseen a buffer zone in the Golan Heights since 1974 to maintain a ceasefire between Israel and Syria. Fighting from Syria's civil war spilled over into the buffer zone last week.

Al-Nusra Front used civilian cars to take the peacekeepers to a U.N. base on the Syrian side of the border, a CNN source said, and the troops walked about 200 meters to the Israeli-occupied Golan side. U.N. vehicles then took the troops to the U.N. observer force command center, the source said.

Ban's spokesman said the secretary-general "appreciates the efforts of all concerned to secure their safe release."

"The Secretary-General emphasizes to all parties the impartiality of United Nations peacekeepers," the spokesman said. "The Secretary-General demands that all parties respect UNDOF's mandate, freedom of movement and the safety and security of its personnel."

Fiji's prime minister described the peacekeepers as heroes in a statement Friday.

"They kept their cool and showed restraint under the most extreme circumstances imaginable. Because of their discipline, not one militant was killed and none of our soldiers were harmed," Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said in a statement.

The peacekeepers will be debriefed, he said, and "obviously deserve a period of rest before they return to their duties."

Bainimarama also praised the courage of the peacekeepers' families.

"They were naturally distressed and anxious during this difficult time, but they never once questioned why their loved ones were sent to the Golan Heights in the first place," he said. "They know better than anyone else that our mission is to bring peace and security to people living in troubled areas around the world."

U.N. peacekeepers in Golan freed - CNN.com

 

[Cossack25A1]

I suspect some sort of incentive was given to free those Fijian peacekeepers.

 

[Bienvenido]

Singha is fine , he is being actively backed by U.N body and has a very productive history with U.N . Its Philippinos troops who bypassed the chain of command and put the lives of everyone at risk .This is a a U.N peace keeping force ,you are not supposed to start shooting . Besides U.N has already told Fijians were not asked to hand over weapons ..

Indian Sikh General Colluding with an Islamic extremist group in providing UN troops as hostages to rebels ?? Did you really think before writing something that retarded ?

The reason why the Fijians were taken hostage in the first place was because they followed a direct order which is to lay down their arms and surrender. Negotiation for the release wouldn't have happened in the first place if it weren't for the direct order of your general. And FYI the "Rules of Engagement" of the UN is when fired upon by armed groups and threatening to attack any peacekeepers then the peacekeepers has the right to use deadly force in respond.

 

[Star Wars]

The reason why the Fijians were taken hostage in the first place was because they followed a direct order which is to lay down their arms and surrender. Negotiation for the release wouldn't have happened in the first place if it weren't for the direct order of your general. And FYI the "Rules of Engagement" of the UN is when fired upon by armed groups and threatening to attack any peacekeepers then the peacekeepers has the right to use deadly force in respond.

Again, UN body has already told Fijians were not asked to give away their weapons , besides the General was involved in the negotiations with freeing the Fijians and he has a history in U.N which includes freeing a captured US journalist few months back. The freeing of the Fijian soldiers was his job . Troops should not do what ever they want without knowing the big picture ..

U.N. peacekeepers in Golan freed
By Joe Sterling and Roba Alhenawi, CNN
September 12, 2014 -- Updated 0143 GMT (0943 HKT)

(CNN) -- The 45 U.N. peacekeepers seized in the Golan Heights have been freed and are in good condition, the United Nations said Thursday.

The peacekeepers -- all from Fiji -- were captured two weeks ago by the al-Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliate, in the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied territory.

The personnel were handed over to the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force. A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said discussions had been ongoing with captors by "various parties" at "various levels" to obtain the peacekeepers' release.

The U.N. Disengagement Observer Force has overseen a buffer zone in the Golan Heights since 1974 to maintain a ceasefire between Israel and Syria. Fighting from Syria's civil war spilled over into the buffer zone last week.

Al-Nusra Front used civilian cars to take the peacekeepers to a U.N. base on the Syrian side of the border, a CNN source said, and the troops walked about 200 meters to the Israeli-occupied Golan side. U.N. vehicles then took the troops to the U.N. observer force command center, the source said.

Ban's spokesman said the secretary-general "appreciates the efforts of all concerned to secure their safe release."

"The Secretary-General emphasizes to all parties the impartiality of United Nations peacekeepers," the spokesman said. "The Secretary-General demands that all parties respect UNDOF's mandate, freedom of movement and the safety and security of its personnel."

Fiji's prime minister described the peacekeepers as heroes in a statement Friday.

"They kept their cool and showed restraint under the most extreme circumstances imaginable. Because of their discipline, not one militant was killed and none of our soldiers were harmed," Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said in a statement.

The peacekeepers will be debriefed, he said, and "obviously deserve a period of rest before they return to their duties."

Bainimarama also praised the courage of the peacekeepers' families.

"They were naturally distressed and anxious during this difficult time, but they never once questioned why their loved ones were sent to the Golan Heights in the first place," he said. "They know better than anyone else that our mission is to bring peace and security to people living in troubled areas around the world."

U.N. peacekeepers in Golan freed - CNN.com

BTW it was the Indian General who was involved in these negotiations .

Oh really sir its filipino by the way and why our troops be less important than others in UN ? and what are you talking about if the UN command counter attack those terrorist they would will never tried this again they have the right to defend themselves they have weapons and yet the Indian commander ordered his troops not to open fire in clearly an attack on the UN for what is that logical? why be armed in the first place? So please stop defending this guy he was a fool to give in to the terrorist

UN does not see Rebels as terrorists , they simply see two sides fighting a war . Its the Job of the UN to bring peace and stay out of an armed conflict as much as possible . When a commander asks you to do something, you do it its that simple . If They bring in their personal reasoning and defy a direct order it only shows unprofessionalism . There is a reason why UN is backing the General and not your soldiers who bypassed direct orders and decided they wanted to be heroes . The fact that Fijians were freed itself shows that what ever the General was doing has worked because he was involved in the negotiations .

 

[Star Wars]

Why don't they use deadly force when Israel attacks UN run schools and hospitals

Quite surprised at their statement "We can use Deadly force" to protect UN assets

Quite interesting indeed

Kind of Ironic isn't it . UN peace keeping forces threatening to use deadly force

 

[nvKyleBrown]

Sounds like a general who gets his people to surrender so he can heroically arrange their release. Not a fan.

 

[Star Wars]

Sounds like a general who gets his people to surrender so he can heroically arrange their release. Not a fan.

That is if you believe the nonsense coming from the Filipinos considering UN Body has already told it was no surrender . The General is not the Sole person responsible ,his decisions are over seen and approved by the U.N . He is not a dictator . Nobody knows what kind of negotiations were going on on the ground so you are shooting in the dark ...

 

[Ayan81]

You said: UN body has already told Fijians were not asked to give away their weapons

Then how the hell they get captured?

 

[Star Wars]

You said: UN body has already told Fijians were not asked to give away their weapons

Then how the hell they get captured?

I did not say this

U.N. denies Golan peacekeepers ordered to hand arms to Syria rebels| Reuters

Initial reports suggested their positions were stormed by Al Nusra front , its probable they surrendered themselves considering the overwhelming odds which were posed against them . If they tried to fight back there would be 45 body bags right now including a few severed heads. There is no point in this unnecessary Bravado of fighting Rebels or Al nusra and risking the lives of every UN peace keeping force in the region .As expected the UN Commanders in the area which include the Indian General has been successful in keeping people alive and avoiding any unnecessary blood shed .

 

[Cossack25A1]

Initial reports suggested their positions were stormed by Al Nusra front , its probable they surrendered themselves considering the overwhelming odds which were posed against them . If they tried to fight back there would be 45 body bags right now including a few severed heads. There is no point in this unnecessary Bravado of fighting Rebels or Al nusra and risking the lives of every UN peace keeping force in the region .As expected the UN Commanders in the area which include the Indian General has been successful in keeping people alive and avoiding any unnecessary blood shed .

The last time this happened (UN Peacekeepers didn't fire back in act of self-defense), 10 Belgian peacekeepers were massacred after they were surrounded by Rwandans and disarmed and the UN Peacekeeping operations in that African country failed because of its inaction to do something except to watch the massacre unfold.

You speak as if you are prepare to condemn the Filipino peacekeepers.

 

[Star Wars]

The last time this happened (UN Peacekeepers didn't fire back in act of self-defense), 10 Belgian peacekeepers were massacred and the UN Peacekeeping operations in an African country failed because of its inaction to do something except to watch the massacre unfold.

The Comparison is rather irrational , Situation is different, the General had considerable experience in dealing with the Rebels and was successful earlier in freeing an American journalist . He is a well respected person in the UN peace keeping force due to his past track record.The Rebels are not looking to fight UN troops , the last thing they want to do is to massacre UN troops eroding any chance of international assistance they need to survive ISIS and Assad Onslaught . Folks in Africa don't give a shit about UN . Fighting back against overwhelming odds was not the solution either , the General would have been blamed if they died he was only there to make sure Fijians were brought home safe. Which he did

 

[Cossack25A1]

The Comparison is rather irrational , Situation is different, the General had considerable experience in dealing with the Rebels and was successful earlier in freeing an American journalist . He is a well respected person in the UN peace keeping force due to his past track record.The Rebels are not looking to fight UN troops , the last thing they want to do is to massacre UN troops eroding any chance of international assistance they need to survive ISIS and Assad Onslaught . Folks in Africa don't give a shit about UN . Fighting back against overwhelming odds was not the solution either , the General would have been blamed if they died he was only there to make sure Fijians were brought home safe. Which he did

The problem here is that al-Nusra front is a terrorist group acting as one of the rebel groups in Syria and that the Syrian civil war is not the typical "two-sided" civil war and while this al-Nusra group see themselves as rebel group fighting Assad's regime, they are still affiliated with al-Qaeda.

If your policy is to "cave in and negotiate with terrorist," then there is nothing else to discuss with.