DOZENS of Filipino U.N. peacekeepers performed the “greatest escape” from besieging Syrian rebels, slipping away under the cover of night after rebels rammed their Golan Heights outpost with armed trucks, the Philippine military said yesterday.

    All 75 soldiers serving with a U.N. peacekeeping force in the Middle East flashpoint zone reached safety after the rebels, some linked to al-Qaida, surrounded them and demanded their weapons Thursday, military chief General Gregorio Catapang said.

    Catapang called it “the greatest escape” and praised the soldiers.

    “Although they were surrounded and outnumbered, they held their ground,” he told reporters.

    However, the fate of 44 U.N. peacekeepers from Fiji remained unknown. The Fijians were taken captive by rebels just before the Filipinos were besieged.

    The troops are part of a U.N. peacekeeping force, which has been stationed in the Golan Heights since 1974 to monitor a cease-fire between Israel and Syria.

    “Everyone is in a safe position. We left our (old) position but we brought all our arms,” said Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala.

    In a statement, the U.N. said the Filipino peacekeepers withdrew shortly after midnight “during a cease-fire agreed with the armed elements.”

    They later moved to Camp Ziouani behind U.N. lines.

    The troops, burdened by their equipment and the cold weather, walked for about an hour and 40 minutes in the dark to reach safety.

    (SD-Agencies)