Filipino United Nations peacekeepers drive at the Kuneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights on Saturday (Reuters photo)

“They arrived in Jordan; they are on Jordanian land now,” Government Spokesperson Samih Maaytah told AFP.

The UN and the Philippines ambassador in Amman also confirmed that the peacekeepers had crossed safely into Jordan from Syria where rebels battling the regime of President Bashar Assad seized them on Wednesday.

“We can confirm that the peacekeepers have been released,” UN peacekeeping spokeswoman Josephine Guerrero said in New York.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the release but said all sides in the Syrian conflict must respect the United Nation’s “freedom of movement”.

Ban “appreciates the efforts of all concerned to secure their safe release”, said a statement released by his press office after the 21 Filipinos crossed from Syria into Jordan.

The Philippines’ Ambassador to Jordan Olivia Palala told AFP the peacekeepers were heading from the borders to the Jordan Armed Forces headquarters in eastern Amman, and are unharmed.

“We contacted them and they are all ok, safe and sound,” she said.

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