‘Isil attacks are moving closer to Irish UN troops in Golan Heights’
THE Irish general in charge of the United Nations peace mission on the Golan Heights, dividing Syria and Israel, has said terrorist group Isil has claimed responsibility forattacksinitsareaof operations.
Maureen O’Brien, the State’s’s first female general, told the UN Security Council the attacks have grown in frequency, scale and severity.
There were assassinations taking place almost every day in the area and reportedly significant exchanges of gun fire between competing groups.
She said some of the incidents had been in the immediate vicinity of UNDOF mission patrol routes, but there was no indication UNDOF was being targeted.
General O’Brien said the deteriorating security situation in that area, known as the Dar’aa governorate, was a cause of concern for UNDOF as there had been a notable shift in incidents moving closer to the mission’s area of operations.
She told the security council UNDOF operated in a complex and sensitive environment with ongoing violations of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement.
UNDOF had reported violations where Israeli forces had attacked targets within Syria, most significantly on April 30 when the Israeli Defence Forces conducted a number of attacks on positions within the mission’s area.
Other military violations included the presence of unauthorised military equipment in the area and an increased number of aircraft and drones flying over.
On the Syrian side, there was an ongoing presence of Syrian armed forces in the area of separation and many instances of civilians crossing the ceasefire line on a daily basis.
General O’Brien said UNDOF worked hard to increase its operational footprint.
“This has been primarily achieved through patrolling and UNDOF now has access to over 95pc of the area of separation for patrolling purposes,” she said.
In May 2019, UNDOF conducted 325 patrols while last month the number of patrols had trebled to 999, she told the council in her address last night.
She said this additional patrolling had significantly increased the situational awareness of the mission and its ability to report more effectively.
This would improve further through the planned addition of two mechanised platoons, who would staff two new posts, located at strategically significant positions in the area of separation.