(UPDATE) Gov't mulls withdrawing peacekeepers in Golan Heights

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government said yesterday that it was mulling withdrawing more than 300 Filipino peacekeepers from the Golan Heights as soon as possible following the second kidnapping of Philippine troops in the volatile region by rebels.

Speaking at a forum hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap), Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said, "We have served with dedication in that area but because of the changed circumstances...our recommendation would encompass an early pull out of our people there because we believe that exposure now is beyond tolerable limits."

Del Rosario's pronouncement came after a second group of Filipinos, who are part of the UN mission monitoring the armistice line in Golan Heights between Syria and Israel following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, were seized by rebels, who called themselves " Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade," on March 7 in Al-Jamla.

The Philippine government called for the "immediate and safe release" of the four Filipinos, who were among the 343 Philippine military and police contingent serving in the Golan Heights for the last three years.

This is the second time that Filipino peacekeepers were taken as hostages this year. Last March, 21 Filipino peacekeepers were abducted by Syrian rebels and were freed after four days.

Del Rosario called the abduction of the peacekeepers a " violation of international law."

"We don't want to expose our people any further anymore than we need to," he said.

"If you look at the situation there the people who abducted the peacekeepers were actually under siege and they are using our people to be able to get out of the situation that they found themselves in. That's not healthy for us," Del Rosario added.

The Philippines has a total of 742 police, military and jail personnel in eight UN peacekeeping operations, namely Haiti, Liberia, South Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, the disputed territory of Abyei between Sudan and South Sudan, the India-Pakistan border and Afghanistan.