UN: Dozens of peacekeepers rescued from Syrian rebels in Golan - Polidicks

[quote] EIN ZIVAN, Golan Heights - Thirty-two UN peacekeepers were rescued from Islamist militants who had fired on their post on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights on Saturday, the United Nations said. Another group of UN soldiers - also from the Philippines - remained trapped by the Islamists who surrounded their positions on Thursday, and a gun battle was ongoing, the UN press office said. The troops are part of UNDOF, a UN force that has monitored the disengagement zone between Israel and Syria since 1974, after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. A Reuters cameraman spotted 11 UN armored vehicles returning to their base in Israeli-controlled territory about 12 hours after the peacekeepers came under fire at around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Saturday. "All 32 Filipino personnel from this position have been extricated and are now safe," the United Nations press office said in a statement issued in New York. The remaining troops, at a separate border post, [B]were still under mortar and heavy machine gun fire[/B], the statement said. [/quote] [url]http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/UN-Dozens-of-peacekeepers-rescued-from-Syrian-rebels-in-Golan-372816[/url] I find it really hard to understand how UN troops, that are under fire, are not being protected by the UN...

[QUOTE=Jonzky;45846410] I find it really hard to understand how UN troops, that are under fire, are not being protected by the UN...[/QUOTE] It's because the UN has no balls.

The United Nations doesn't have a mobile reactionary force that's able to respond to these situations. They just have the forces stationed in their area of operation, that have been placed there by the UNSC. This basically translates to not being able to reinforce or backup anyone that might need it, and it's a shitty situation.

Update: All (except for the kidnapped ones) have been rescued. [quote] All the Philippine UN peacekeepers trapped by Islamist militants on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights have been moved to a secure place, the United Nations and the Philippines said. The United Nations said the 40 peacekeepers left during a cease-fire agreed with "armed elements" in the area shortly after midnight local time and were moved to a safe place. In Manila, General Gregorio Catapang, the Philippines' armed forces chief, told a news conference that Israel and Syria helped in what was the "greatest escape" of Filipino troops after engaging about 100 Islamist militants surrounding them in a seven-hour firefight. The troops escaped in the middle of the night while the rebels were sleeping, he said. "This attack prompted UNDOF to reposition our troops to a more secure position within the mission area," Catapang said, referring to the UN peacekeeping force that has monitored the disengagement zone between Israel and Syria since 1974, following the 1973 Yom Kippur War. "Currently, Filipino peacekeepers from both Position 68 and 69 have been successfully repositioned to Camp Ziuoani." [/quote] [url]http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/UN-Dozens-of-peacekeepers-rescued-from-Syrian-rebels-in-Golan-372816[/url]