PHL to repatriate troops in Golan Heights earlier than expected

(Updated 1:14 p.m.) Filipino peacekeepers in Golan Heights will be repatriated sooner after they were repositioned to territory controlled by Israel, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Friday.
 
In a statement, AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala cited the "volatile operational environment" in Golan Heights and "logistical constraints" following the repositioning as reasons for the earlier repatriation of Filipino troops.
 
"Because of this repositioning of all peacekeepers to the Israeli side of Golan Heights and its attendant logistical constraints on UNDOF [United Nations Disengagement Observer Force], it was deemed practical that PH contingent be repatriated earlier than expected," Zagala said.
 
The Philippines was supposed to pull out all 331 of its troops serving in the UNDOF after their tour of duty in October.

Last week, the head of the Philippine peacekeeping force in Golan Heights, Col. James Ezra Enriquez, already returned to the Philippines. He offered to resign in the wake of the controversy triggered by the Filipino peacekeepers' escape, but this was rejected by his superiors.
 
On Monday, the United Nations announced that it withdrew all peacekeepers from the Syrian-controlled side of Golan Heights due to the deteriorating security situation in the area.
 
 
At the time the Fijians were abducted, 75 Filipino peacekeepers figured in a standoff with the Syrian militants, which ended with them escaping after a seven-hour clash.
 
But the AFP and UNDOF officials gave conflicting takes of the Filipino peacekeepers' escape. The Philippine military said the Filipino troops defied the order as there was no guarantee that the rebels would release the Fijian hostages. 
 
On the other hand, Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singh Singha, UNDOF commander, described the Filipino troops' action as an act of cowardice. 
 
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in a 1967 war, and the countries technically remain at war. Syrian troops are not allowed in an area of separation under a 1973 ceasefire formalized in 1974.
 
UNDOF monitors the area of separation, a narrow strip of land running 70 km from Mount Hermon on the Lebanese border to the Yarmouk River frontier with Jordan. There are 1,223 UNDOF peacekeepers from six countries. — RSJ, GMA News

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