The European Union has added its voice to worldwide calls for the release of UN troops abducted by a Syrian rebel group.
The EU has condemned the detention of more than 20 peacekeepers from the Philippines, and says it's a serious breach of international law.
The troops were taken hostage in the Golan Heights along the Syria-Israel border lastnight.
They were part of a 300-strong Filipino peacekeeping unit and were detained at a rebel observation point on Wednesday by oppositions fighters who said the troops would be held until Syrian regime forces pulled back from a Golan village.
"The Philippine government has called for the immediate release of 21 Filipino peacekeepers who are part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights," the foreign affairs department said.
In a statement, the department said that all the hostages were reported to be unharmed and negotiations were under way to secure their safe release.
Philippine armed forces spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Burgos told AFP the rebels were treating the hostages well, adding "They are being treated as guests, not as hostiles (enemy force)".
