Low ammunition supplies prompted the 40 Filipino peacekeepers from Position 68 to make a daring night-time escape across a minefield early Sunday morning (Syrian time).
It was either that or face the possibility of being massacred by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Syrian rebels who, the Filipinos traded shots for more than seven hours, said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang on Tuesday.
Ammunition of the Filipino peacekeepers were depleted after a seven-hour long firefight with Syrian rebels Saturday.
"As a backgrounder, our peacekeepers in Position 68 and 69 were surrounded by the rebels. And then they (Syrian rebels) brought two Fijian officers, they want to show that the 44 Fijians were hostaged, they were negotiating with us to lay down our firearms," he disclosed.
This took place during the early part of the stand-off Thursday morning (Syrian time).
However, the Filipinos peacekeepers stood their ground while looking for means to solve the deadlock between the two forces.
Catapang divulged his conversation with the Filipino peacekeepers via video conference who narrated to him the details of what happened.
"We told them, you want the firearms, you ask the Fijians to give another 44 firearms. So our firearms is not for gives. It’s a great dishonor for us if we give up our firearms," the AFP chief quoted the Filipino peacekeepers.
During the negotiation, the Syrian rebels became impatient and attacked the Filipino soldiers Saturday morning (Syrian time).
"And they (Syrian rebels) attacked us for seven hours. So what shall we do? And when they were already tired attacking us, they again asked for a negotiation of the ceasefire," the Filipino peacekeepers told the AFP chief.
While talks were ongoing, Catapang said the Philippine peacekeepers were monitoring the enemy who was observed to be regrouping and amassing.
At this point, an order from United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) commander Lt. Gen. Igbal Singh Singha came through telling Filipino troops that "once you are again attacked, the best thing to do, the order is, surrender your firearms (and) put up the white flag."
The order, Catapang said, is not negotiable.
He added that the AFP contingent to
"So we had to make the greatest escape for the soldiers," he said.
"So, from that time on, we assessed, they were coming in reinforcements, then we think that the following day (Sunday), we will be attacked again. And that will be the end of it. We will be massacred, as the good Secretary Voltaire Gazmin stated. Because we didn’t want the people to know, we had a news blackout, they (Filipino troops) were low of ammunition," he revealed.
"So we planned for the greatest escape. And hopefully, with God’s grace, the area was, it was not foggy, and we were able to run in the middle of the night when the rebels were sleeping," he said.
"We made our greatest escape because it was a difficult escape route, because the route that we will pass through has mines, it was also mined. We had a guide, Capt. (Nilo) Ramones, the company commander," he added.
The AFP chief said the 40 Filipino troops from position 68 went down from their post.
When asked if they were not aided by UN armored personnel carriers in their attempt, the AFP official said: "Gen. Singha ordered no military operations."
"We were fortunate that we were reinforced (and extricated by the Irish contingent) in Position 69. But unfortunately, they really wanted us to surrender and give our firearms in Position 68," Catapang said.
"So, it’s still to be investigated, why the order of Gen. Singha was, there will be no reinforcement. Because he was already there, we were monitoring him. And then all of a sudden, he changed his mind. And then, another negotiation came in. When he told us that if the next attack comes in, surrender your firearms, put up the white flag," the AFP chief said.
Catapang said the Filipino peacekeepers were trying to inform Singha of their escape plans but the latter told Col. Ezra Enrique (UNDOF chief-of-staff) that he does not want to hear the escape plans of the Filipinos.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=679507
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.