Filippino peacekeepers surrounded

Syrian rebels surround 75 peacekeepers from the Philippines at two UN posts in the Golan Heights. Their commander in Manila, Col. Robert Ancan:

We can use deadly force in defence of the UN facilities. I [would] just like to emphasise our troops are well-armed, they are well-trained … they are well-disciplined warrior peacekeepers.

The rebels include fighters from Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front. Ancan says they have used an English-speaking Fijian, one of a group of peacekeepers from Fiji captured earlier in the week, to relay demands to the Filippinos to lay down their weapons.