UNDOF commander: Filipinos' defiance unprofessional

MANILA, Philippines —  The Indian commander of the United Nations' (UN) peacekeeping force broke his silence on the Philippine military's accusations that he misguidedly ordered besieged Filipino troops to surrender their arms to rebels in Golan Heights over the weekend.

In an interview with a Noida-based newspaper, UN Disengagement Observer Force Commander Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singh Singha criticized the defiance of the 40 trapped Filipino peacekeepers as "non-professional."

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.

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.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday called on "countries with influence" to press the insurgents to release the peacekeepers from Fiji abducted last week.

The council also welcomed the news that all Filipinos were safe and commended the UN peacekeeping mission's quick reaction force for extracting them to safety.

Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, earlier called for an investigation on Singha for ordering members of the Philippine contingent to surrender their weapons to the rebel fighters.

In this photo released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs Office, Philippine Military Chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang, center, reacts after learning about the safe repositioning of Filipino peacekeepers in Golan Heights as they monitor the situation with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario, second left, Philippine National Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, third from left seated, at Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. AP

"Gen. Singha ordered no military operations. So, it's still to be investigated, why the order of Gen. Singha was, there will be no reinforcement. Because he was already there, we were monitoring him. And then all of a sudden, he changed his mind," Catapang said. - with reports from AP