UN Security Council concerned Syria war spilling over into Golan

The UN Security Council voiced concern on Wednesday about repeated violations of the ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the danger to UN peacekeepers there due to the escalating Syrian civil war.

The armed struggle between rebels and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has posed increasing difficulties for the 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). UN peacekeepers monitoring the line halted patrols this month after rebels held 21 Filipino observers for three days.

“The members of the Security Council expressed grave concern at all violations of the Disengagement of Forces Agreement,” the council said, adding that it also voiced “grave concern at the presence of the Syrian Arab Republic Armed Forces inside the area of separation.”

UNDOF has the task of monitoring an “area of separation” between Syrian and Israeli forces, a narrow strip of land running 70km from Mount Hermon on the Lebanese border to the Yarmouk River frontier with Jordan.

In its statement, the council also “expressed grave concern at the presence of armed members of the opposition in the area of separation.”

The council “called on all parties, including armed elements of the Syrian opposition, to respect UNDOF’s freedom of movement and the safety and security of its personnel, while recalling that the primary responsibility for safety and security ... rests with the Syrian Government.”