Professionalism
of the Filipino soldiers was highlighted anew with the sterling conduct and
bravery demonstrated by the latter during the standoff with Syrian rebels in
the Golan Heights last week, Department of National defense Secretary Voltaire
Gazmin said on Monday.
”Besieged
by a superior number of armed Syrian rebels while manning the two stations of
the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, or UNDOF, our peacekeepers
kept their calm and stood their ground,” Gazmin stressed.
The
standoff between the Syrian rebel force took place last Aug. 28 (Syrian time).
It lasted until Aug. 31 early in the morning when Filipinos from Position 68
successfully made a breakthrough in their encircled outpost.
What
made the feat more commendable was the fact that the Filipinos withstood a
seven-hour firefight without sustaining any casualties.
”Well-trained,
in high morale and mission accomplishment-oriented, our peacekeepers denied the
demands of the Syrian rebels to surrender their weapons in exchange for their freedom
and safety. Instead, they defended themselves when they fired were fired upon.
Eventually, our first group of 35 peacekeepers was successfully escorted out of
a UN encampment (Position 69) by friendly forces on board armored vehicles,”
Gazmin said.
The
DND chief's statement came in the wake of reports claiming that UNDOF commander
Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singh Singha called the action of Filipinos troops in the Golan Heights an act of cowardice.
Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang
earlier said that defending an outpost for seven hours, outnumbered and
heavily-outgunned at that, is no sign of cowardice.
Catapang
was referring to the valiant act of Filipino peacekeepers in Position 68 in the
Golan Heights who fought to a stand-still a
Syrian rebel force who earlier disarmed and held hostage 44 Fijian
peacekeepers.
The
UNDOF commander also alleged that the Filipinos' decision to break out
jeopardized the ceasefire he negotiated with the Syrian rebels and the lives of
the 44 hostages Fijians.
Singha
also denied claims that he ordered the surrender of Filipino peacekeepers and
their weapons, an allegation to which Catapang said the AFP has solid basis.
He
added that Filipino troops would not be reporting this to higher headquarters
if it were not true.
The
AFP chief said that there is no need for the Philippine military to be involved
in a "blame-game problem."
He
added that the AFP will just let the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reply
to all queries regarding the matter.
"We
(AFP) decided that we should just keep our silence on further discussion about
the incident. We have ask the DFA to reply to all queries about this
unfortunate incident," Catapang stressed.
"We
will just submit all the reports as directed by the President. After saving our
troops from being massacred, the last thing we want to do is be involved in a
'blame-game' problem," the AFP chief stressed.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=681655
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