UN Chief Ban Ki-moon welcomes release of peacekeepers in Syria

A GROUP of 21 Filipino UN peacekeepers kidnapped by Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights have been freed.

Syria rebels

A GROUP of 21 Filipino UN peacekeepers kidnapped by Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights have been freed.

The peacekeepers were released at the border with Jordan after an agreement was reached between the Syrian regime and the UN for a two-hour cessation of hostilities on Saturday to allow a Red Cross team to evacuate the 21 peacekeepers.

The move was welcomed by UN leader Ban Ki-moon who said all sides in the conflict must respect the UN's "impartiality."

Ban "appreciates the efforts of all concerned to secure their safe release," said a statement released by his press office after the 21 crossed from Syria into Jordan.

The 21 members of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which monitors a ceasefire between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights, were abducted on Wednesday.

"They arrived in Jordan; they are on Jordanian land now," Jordanian government spokesman Samih Maaytah told AFP.

Philippines ambassador Olivia V. Palala also confirmed that the peacekeepers had arrived in Jordan from neighbouring Syria.

"They are apparently inside Jordanian territory now. I am heading to the borders to meet them," she told AFP.

The situation in Jamla was calm early on Saturday, but by the end of the morning, "fighting broke out between rebels and soldiers, when the insurgents attacked an army unit in Aabdine, three kilometres south of Jamla," Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The Filipinos, members of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) monitoring the armistice line between Syria and Israel that followed the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, were abducted just a mile to the Syrian side of the line.

The rebels have demanded that Syrian troops move 20 kilometres back from Jamla.

The release came after the failure of an earlier planned handover, with a UN convoy that had entered Jamla to pick up the group pulling out when the Syrian army shelled the area.

"The secretary general emphasizes to all parties the impartiality of United Nations peacekeepers," said Ban's statement.

"UNDOF is on the ground to monitor the Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Israel and Syria. The secretary general calls on all parties to respect UNDOF's freedom of movement and the safety and security of its personnel. He also calls on them to respect and uphold the protection of civilians."