By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-n-peacekeepers-syria-safely-extracted-following-firefight Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Trapped UN peacekeepers escape Islamist militants in Golan Heights World Aug 31, 2014 12:56 PM EDT 40 United Nations peacekeepers from the Philippines escaped overnight after being surrounded since Thursday by Islamic militants in southern Syria, Reuters reports. “We may call it the greatest escape,” Philippine military chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang told reporters in Manila, according to the Associated Press. The day before, 35 Filipino peacekeepers were rescued, following a firefight. The peacekeepers had been trapped by an al-Qaida linked group known as the Nusra Front. The group has been fighting the Syrian army in the area for the past several days. Forty-four Fijian troops were captured at the same time. They remain in captivity in an unknown location, as negotiations for their release continue. A Nusra Front commander told Reuters the Fijian peacekeepers had been detained because the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force troops were helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government. The peacekeepers are part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, a special force that has monitored the area since 1974, following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Last year, due to escalating violence in the area, several nations withdrew their troops. At that time, the U.N. and U.S. pleaded with the Philippines not to follow suit, according to the AP. There are an estimated 1,223 peacekeepers in the zone from six countries. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Carey Reed assists in covering breaking and feature news for NewsHour Weekend's website. She also helps the NewsHour Weekend broadcast team in the production of the show. She is interested in the flourishing fields of data journalism and information visualization and recently graduated, with honors, from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. @careyereed
40 United Nations peacekeepers from the Philippines escaped overnight after being surrounded since Thursday by Islamic militants in southern Syria, Reuters reports. “We may call it the greatest escape,” Philippine military chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang told reporters in Manila, according to the Associated Press. The day before, 35 Filipino peacekeepers were rescued, following a firefight. The peacekeepers had been trapped by an al-Qaida linked group known as the Nusra Front. The group has been fighting the Syrian army in the area for the past several days. Forty-four Fijian troops were captured at the same time. They remain in captivity in an unknown location, as negotiations for their release continue. A Nusra Front commander told Reuters the Fijian peacekeepers had been detained because the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force troops were helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government. The peacekeepers are part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, a special force that has monitored the area since 1974, following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Last year, due to escalating violence in the area, several nations withdrew their troops. At that time, the U.N. and U.S. pleaded with the Philippines not to follow suit, according to the AP. There are an estimated 1,223 peacekeepers in the zone from six countries. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now