81 Filipino peacekeepers in Syria against ISIS

[bleedingboi]

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Well if they are that bad, I'm just wondering why they are still around... Others could have just wiped them off the face of the earth...

And yes, history do tell a tale...

Then to answer you right away, it's not about their civilization, it's about the strength and persistence of their culture.

[C'thulhu]

Let the media wars begin...

Let's see peoples perspective regarding this issue...

Singha, meanwhile, called what the Armed Forces of the Philippines dubbed the "greatest escape" of 40 troops from Position 68 nothing but an "act of cowardice."

"The higher UN echelon as well as the Indian Army agrees with me that the decision was correct. It is an act of cowardice to desert posts especially when a delicate ceasefire was in place," he said.

He also insisted that the troops broke the chain of command and overstepped the UN leadership's authority when their safety and the release of the hostages were still being negotiated for.

UNDOF commander: Filipinos' defiance unprofessional | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com

[æRLO]

Let the media wars begin...

Let's see peoples perspective regarding this issue...



UNDOF commander: Filipinos' defiance unprofessional | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com

So following Singha's logic...

We're gonna give you more hostages to make it easier for us to bargain for the hostages you already have. Did he really think they can appease with terrorists?

Also his orders were very ambiguous. He ordered the Filipinos to surrender THEN it changed to don't exchange fire with the enemy, THEN it was to surrender.

Then it turns out the U.N. imperative was NOT to surrender the weapons.

Asked what order was given to the Filipinos, Hervé Ladsous, the UN Under Secretary-General, replied, "Never to hand over weapons."

The order was simply "not to shoot," he said.

One U.N. official also told Reuters that no force commander would order his troops to hand over weapons to rebels. If that were to happen, the official said, the commander would "be out of a job" since countries that supply weapons and materiel to the force would be reluctant to re-supply the mission.

This statement contradicts Singha's orders to surrender their weapons--which he himself asserted in doing.

Speaking over the phone from Golan Heights, Singha said that disregarding his orders of putting down arms, the Filipino troops had endangered the lives of 44 Fijian peacekeepers who have been besieged by the rebels and are in the conflict area.
Indian officer with UN breaks silence on peacekeeping row : Latest of the Lot, News - India Today

Gen Catapang was right in telling the Filipino contingency to defy Signha's orders because it simply contradicted the UN's imperatives. Based on what Ladsous and the unnamed UN official said, Singha should be relieved of his post.

BTW, scratch 3 ragheads.

[C'thulhu]

The Philippine Army already learned its lesson regarding that "stack arms" request of the rebels, a lesson that the army learned the hard way at Pata Island...

Singha said the Filipinos' resistance further compromised the situation of the Fijian peacekeepers earlier abducted by the Syrian rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda.

"The non-professional actions of the Filipino troops have endangered the lives of the Fijian soldiers," Singha told the India Times in a report published Thursday (Manila time).

"They have defied orders at a time when we had negotiated a ceasefire with the rebels to ensure that all troops in the conflict area could exit," he added.

The military leader's statement coincided with the UN's denial that the order was issued. The organization said, however, that it backs Singha's decisions during the siege and commended him for sending a quick reaction force to extract trapped men.

Now they are blaming us for complicating the situation and endangering the Fijians for resisting and not complying with Gen. Singha's order? I could understand if he was also on the ground with our troops, but for him to issue such order in the safety of his hq, does he expect that our troops would just lay back and raise all fours?

[C'thulhu]

At least the Fijian understand our reason for resisting...

Asked why his men surrendered, Tikoitoga said they were following a direct order from the commander of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).

"At no stage in an operation would I expect any of my officers not to follow the decisions of the first commander," he said. "The Filipinos chose to do so and the Philippines government have supported them for having chosen that path.

"We cannot criticize them for it, nor can we follow the decision they have made, we live by our own ethos of following command."

He said officers on the ground had to make a snap decision in a fraught situation.

General denies Fiji Muslims face UN hostage backlash


Meanwhile, the other side of the story...

Speaking over the phone from Golan Heights, Singha said that disregarding his orders of putting down arms, the Filipino troops had endangered the lives of 44 Fijian peacekeepers who have been besieged by the rebels and are in the conflict area. "The non-professional actions of the Filipino troops have endangered the lives of the Fijian soldiers. They have defied orders at a time when we had negotiated a ceasefire with the rebels to ensure that all troops in the conflict area could exit," Singha said. The officer, who has had a vast experience of commanding troops in Kashmir and other conflict zones, added that the UN has supported his call on the issue. "The higher UN echelon as well as the Indian Army agrees with me that the decision was correct. It is an act of cowardice to desert posts especially when a delicate ceasefire was in place," the officer said. "They broke the chain of command and UN orders", he added.

Sources said that the Filipino troops disregarded the orders by the Commander to not fire for effect against the rebels and in the process killed three combatants. This has raised tempers questions against the UN troops in the area.
"We had already moved 212 Filipinos to safety. There was only one post left with 40 soldiers and we were negotiating for them too and had secured a ceasefire for the night. Military action would have resulted in casualties on both sides and that would have also affected the fate of 45 Fijians abducted earlier," the officer said.

And also blaming the Philippine contingent for the kidnapping incident last year. Hmm looks like something was already brewing here, it just got out of hand now...

Adding that the "UN HQ has backed me up for all decisions." Sources have also alleged that the Philippine side had been facing trouble due to indiscipline and callousness earlier with 22 of them being abducted last year in the same area after they defied orders and moved without weapons. In an incident last year, rebels had even taken two machine guns from a Philippine post.

Incidentally, Singha was appreciated by both the UN and the US State Department for his role earlier this month in securing the release of a US journalist who was kidnapped by Syrian rebels.

Indian officer with UN breaks silence on peacekeeping row : Latest of the Lot, News - India Today

[Romeojin]

Lisod katuohan ang statements ni Singha.

1. Surrendering is the highest form of cowardice compare to fleeing from combat at least naa pa chance to fight another day. But the Filipino forces was force to flee after 7 hours of firefight, low ammos and lack of reinforcements.

2. The Fijian forces was ordered to surrender by Singha, I dont know why tell the Filipino forces to surrender to save the Fijian forces. why tell the Fijian forces to surrender in the first place ?

3. Why negotiate with terrorist ? ? ?

4. Its stupid to surrender considering theres a news at that time that the 250 Syrian army who surrender was force to march in their undergarments and executed along the way. Being a Christian and Philippines is a US ally, its a bad place to surrender.

[C'thulhu]

Well, this didn't take long...

According to the London-based daily Asharq al-Awsat,
the jihadist group said it would try the soldiers according to Sharia law.

The report added that there has been no progress in talks to release the Fijians.

Al-Nusra Front threatens to try UN Fijian peacekeepers | The Times of Israel

[<SMILE>]

I believe that the UN does have all the resources in terms of logistics and intelligence,
I do not know why 45 Fijians were captured. I think there's a problem how the troops are managed at the ground,
the big blunder I think is that they the UN are placing a lot faith on that General called Singha.

[pak88]

Unsa kaha ni tinood? Both parties are covering their ***

[salbahis]

Gen Singha(ot), is just trying to save face on his incompetence... ph.gov should stop sending troops after oct if this is the type of leader ang modala....