Update | Trapped Filipino peacekeepers clash with Syrian rebels after tense stand-off

UN peacekeepers from the Philippines clashed with Syrian rebels yesterday in the Golan Heights, activists and officials said, as the international organisation risked being sucked further into the conflict.

The gun battle began early yesterday at the Rwihana base some 2.3km from Quneitra crossing, which is located on the frontier between Syrian and Israeli controlled parts of the Golan Heights. Forty Filipino peacekeepers were surrounded by rebels of the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, who ordered them to surrender, said Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Philippine Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin gave a similar account but did not name the armed group.

Abdurrahman, whose information comes from a network of activists throughout Syria, said he was not aware of any fatalities among the Filipino peacekeepers in the Rwihana encampment as sporadic fighting continued throughout the day. Philippine military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala also said there were no casualties.

The 35 Filipino UN peacekeepers at the Breiqa encampment, who were also surrounded by rebels, were extracted yesterday morning, with the help of Irish peacekeepers who rushed to the scene, said officials.

An official said there was no shooting involved, and no injuries. He said that the Irish battalion also evacuated another base on Friday but provided no further details.