Syrian rebels treated 21 Pinoy peacekeepers well

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Monday that the 21 Filipino peacekeepers were treated as guests by their Syrian captors.

"They were not treated as prisoners and they were really treated as guests. In fact, their captors even exchanged pleasantries with them and gave them some language lessons in Arabic," said Col. Roberto Ancan, head of the AFP's peacekeeping operations.

Ancan added that the Syrian rebels fed 21 Filipino peacekeepers well.

"They ate what the Syrian rebels were eating at the time," the official stated.

Ancan said that the Filipino peacekeepers were more terrified on being hit by a stray round or shell whenever there was sporadic fighting in the Golan Heights.

He also said that the Syrian rebels even gave back some of the electronic gadgets back to the Filipinos after making sure that it was not fitted with tracking devices.

The 21 Filipino peacekeepers were held by Syrian rebels last March 6 while on a logistic run at the Golan Heights, an area marked by intense fighting by Israeli and Syrian forces in 1974. They were released to Jordanian immigration authorities last Saturday.