Manila pulling out troops from Liberia amid Ebola threat

MANILA: The Philippines on Saturday said it is withdrawing its peacekeeping troops from Liberia and will bring home its troops from the Golan Heights when their tour of duty ends in October.
Department of National Defense spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said the peacekeepers would be “repatriated as soon as possible” because of the worsening Ebola outbreak in West Africa that has killed almost 1,500 people.
“Amidst the volatile security environment in the Middle East and West African region, the Philippines prioritizes the safety and security of its troops, but remains committed to the peace keeping missions of the Union Nations,” Galvez said in a statement.
The Philippines has about 800 to 1,000 soldiers and police officers serving under the United Nations flag in conflict and disaster-stricken areas, including Haiti, Sudan, East Timor, Cote d’Ivoire and the Korean peninsula.
The Philippines has been sending soldiers to Liberia since 2003. A Philippine seaman is being monitored in Togo for signs of the disease but authorities say the country is still Ebola-free, despite dozens of workers returning from Liberia.
The Philippines has been sending a battalion-size contingent to the Golan Heights since 2009. In March 2013, Syrian rebels briefly held 21 Philippine peacekeepers and kidnapped four more two months later. All Philippine peacekeepers have been freed.
Peacekeepers have been caught in the middle of fighting between Syrian troops and rebels in the area of separation, which had been largely quiet for nearly 40 years.
Israel captured the Golan heights from Syria in the 1967 “Six-Day” war, and the countries technically remain at war. Syrian troops are not allowed in an area of separation under a 1973 cease-fire formalized in 1974.
The United Nations Disengagement Observation Force (UNDOF), which has been monitoring the cease-fire, has about 1,000 peacekeepers and civilian staff from India, Nepal, Ireland, Fiji, Moldova, Morocco and the Philippines.