UN peacekeepers return to Golan-Syria frontier

▶ Mission conducted its first patrol since 2014, with Russian forces alongside them

A UN peacekeeping force has returned to the frontier between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for the first time since 2014.

UN peacekeepers, accompanied by Russian military police, patrolled the area for the first time in six years on Thursday, Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian Defence Ministry official, told Interfax.

The peacekeeping mission was halted amid the violence of Syria’s civil war. Moscow earlier said it would send military police to the frontier and set up eight observation posts.

Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, have reclaimed much of the area bordering the Golan in south-western Syria from rebels and militants.

The presence of Iranian forces and allied fighters, such as those of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, has pushed Israel to counter the threat near its northern border.

Early on Thursday, Israel killed seven militants in an air strike on the Syrian-held Golan Heights, Israel Radio reported.

The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it had was aimed at “several armed terror operatives in the southern Syrian Golan Heights” overnight. There was no immediate Syrian government response to Israel’s statements.

The Israeli military said that after the air strike, “explosive belts and an AK-47 assault rifle were found in the area”. It did not say how they had been found.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in the UK, said on Thursday that clashes continued between the Syrian army and ISIS militants in the area.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 in a move that was never internationally recognised. In 1974, the UN sent peacekeepers between the two sides.

Syria and Russia recently carried out dozens of air raids in the south and south-east of Syria against rebel groups and hardline militants linked to ISIS.

The offensive has displaced thousands of civilians, and several groups of rebels have negotiated surrender agreements. Groups linked to ISIS are not included in the deals.

Israeli warplanes have struck Iranian-backed targets dozens of times during the civil war in Syria. Last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said more than 100 operations against Hezbollah and Iran had been carried out in Syria.

Hezbollah has been fighting alongside troops loyal to Mr Al Assad.

Moscow earlier said it would send military police to the frontier and set up eight observation posts