PH condemns violence in Golan Heights, calls for pullout of non-peacekeepers
DFA spokesman and assistant secretary Charles Jose. AFP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) expressed “great concern” over the recent increase in violence in the Golan Heights region and called for the withdrawal of forces not with the United Nations Disengagement Observation Force (UNDOF).
“The Philippines expresses great concern for the escalation of violence in the Golan Heights and condemns hostile actions directed at UN peacekeepers,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose said in a press briefing Friday.
“The Philippines calls on all parties to the conflict to respect the mandate of UNDOF. The Philippines further calls for the immediate release of 43 abducted Fijian peacekeepers and for the immediate withdrawal of all non-UN forces around UNDOF position,” he said.
Jose said they were closely monitoring the situation in the Golan Heights where Filipino UN peacekeepers were resisting the Syrian rebels.
The Philippines has 331 troops serving as peacekeepers in the region, 75 of them surrounded by the rebels. They have refused to surrender their arms causing the current standoff.
The Fijian peacekeepers were likewise surrounded and ordered to lay down their weapons after which they were detained by the rebels.
“Our government, including our foreign missions in that region and at the UN headquarters in New York, is closely monitoring developments and is coordinating with both the UN and concerned foreign governments to help bring about a peaceful resolution of this crisis,” Jose said.
“[Philippines] likewise calls on the UN to exert every effort to ensure the safety and security of all peacekeepers in UNDOF,” he said.
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