Terrorists attack UN peacekeepers in Golan Heights

Dozens of Filipino peacekeepers in the Golan Heights have come under attack by foreign-backed terrorists fighting the Syrian government.

Philippine Defense Minister Voltaire Gazmin said the terrorist assault started early on Saturday, noting that the troops at one UN encampment were attacked, but those at another were extricated.

Sources say there are 40 Filipino troops in the encampment that came under attack and 35 in the second.

The latest developments come after the peacekeepers refused to surrender to militants, including those linked to the al-Qaeda-affiliate al-Nusra Front. Syrian opposition groups including al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front have been directly supported by the US and trained in Jordan.

Meanwhile, militants have also abducted 44 UN troops from Fiji. The Fijian members of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) were detained on Wednesday near Quneitra.

The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the assaults against the peacekeepers.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011. Over 190,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to the violence fueled by the foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists.

According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — are supporting the Takfiris fighting the legitimate government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Golan Heights has been under the Israeli occupation since the 1960s. The Tel Aviv regime captured the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967 and annexed the region in 1981, although the move was never recognized by the international community and was a violation of international law.

The UN Security Council has rejected the de facto annexation in Resolution 497. The UN also regards the Golan Heights as an occupied territory.