Sunday, August 31, 2014

Kudos to the Filipino UN Troops

Perhaps all too aware of the power of the international community to help them if captured, the Filipino UN troops in the Golan Heights trapped in their positions by jihadis escaped rather than await their turn to die.

Very good, guys:

Under cover of darkness, 40 Filipino peacekeepers made a daring escape after being surrounded and under fire for seven hours by Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights, Philippine officials said Sunday, leaving 44 Fijian troops still in the hands of the al-Qaida-linked insurgents.

Sadly, the Fijians are in the hands of jihadis.

It was safe enough to be a peacekeeper on the quiet Israel-Syria frontier before a totally different war came to Golan. Habits fine for a quiet sector are not appropriate for a war zone filled with murderous jihadis.

Attitudes, capabilities, and rules of engagement probably need to change.

Or the UN peacekeepers need to turn over their positions to Israeli troops for the duration of the war in Syria.