30 August 2014
Last updated at 11:58 ET
There has been heavy fighting in the Quneitra area of the Syrian Golan Heights in recent days
He said the assault had started early on Saturday, but gave no details on any casualties.
In recent days the Syrian rebels have taken 44 Fijian peacekeepers hostage in the area and surrounded 75 Filipinos manning two separate UN posts.
The rebels have also seized a crossing point into the Israeli-occupied Golan.
They are believed to include members of the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria.
Mr Guzman told reporters that 40 Philippine soldiers trapped at one post had come under attack on Saturday.
Thirty-five others based at the other camp have been "extricated", he said.
Worsening security The Fijian members of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (Undof) were detained on Wednesday near Quneitra, during fighting between rebels and government forces.
Last week the Philippine government said it would bring home its 331 peacekeeping forces from the Golan Heights in October, amid deteriorating security there.
Israel seized most of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau in south-western Syria, during the 1967 Six-Day War.
The two countries signed an armistice in 1974, after which Undof was put in place to monitor the demilitarised zone.
It has 1,224 lightly-armed military personnel from Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, the Netherlands and the Philippines.
Philippine troops 'attacked in Syria's Golan Heights'
There has been heavy fighting in the Quneitra area of the Syrian Golan Heights in recent days
Philippine
peacekeepers trapped by rebels in the Syrian Golan Heights are "under
attack", Philippine Defence Minister Voltaire Gazmin says.
In recent days the Syrian rebels have taken 44 Fijian peacekeepers hostage in the area and surrounded 75 Filipinos manning two separate UN posts.
The rebels have also seized a crossing point into the Israeli-occupied Golan.
They are believed to include members of the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria.
Mr Guzman told reporters that 40 Philippine soldiers trapped at one post had come under attack on Saturday.
Thirty-five others based at the other camp have been "extricated", he said.
Worsening security The Fijian members of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (Undof) were detained on Wednesday near Quneitra, during fighting between rebels and government forces.
Last week the Philippine government said it would bring home its 331 peacekeeping forces from the Golan Heights in October, amid deteriorating security there.
Israel seized most of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau in south-western Syria, during the 1967 Six-Day War.
The two countries signed an armistice in 1974, after which Undof was put in place to monitor the demilitarised zone.
It has 1,224 lightly-armed military personnel from Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, the Netherlands and the Philippines.
Syria conflict
Features and analysis
-
Iraqi Sunni rebels who took up arms against the government signal that they are ready to revolt against Islamic State, says Jim Muir in Irbil
Turning against IS?
-
'No-one cares'
-
'Till the last drop of blood'
-
Suffering in west Aleppo
-
Defiant rebels
-
Ballot amid battle
-
'Going nowhere'
-
Syria's exodus
-
Stalemate and ceasefires
-
Syria poll stifles hope
-
In fear day and night
-
Emerging victor?
-
Syria's story
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered