Syrian rebels want to release UN peacekeepers: Philippines

In this March 7, 2013 photo, a U.N. peacekeeper from the Philippines crosses back from Syria at the Quneitra Crossing between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

Syrian rebels who seized 21 Filipino U.N. peacekeepers in the Golan Heights want the Red Cross to escort them out of the area because of fighting with Syrian government forces, the Philippine military said on Friday.

The 21 peacekeepers were seized on Wednesday near the Syrian village of Jamlah, just a km from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights in an area where the U.N. force had patrolled a ceasefire line between Israel and Syria without incident for nearly four decades.

Philippine military spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said that the rebels were willing to release the peacekeepers, and asked for the International Committee of the Red Cross to escort them to a safe area.

According to Col. Burgos, the rebels said the peacekeepers have to be removed because there was heavy fighting in the area.

“They want the ICRC to pick them up and escort them,” Col. Burgos said. “Hopefully they will really be released and we are also waiting for that.”

The peacekeepers said in videos posted online that they were being treated well.

“To our family, we hope to see you soon and we are okay here,” said a peacekeeper shown in one video. He was one of three troops dressed in camouflage and blue bullet-proof vests emblazoned with the words U.N. and Philippines.

The U.N. and the Philippine government condemned the seizure of the peacekeepers and called on the rebels to immediately release them.