BICOM

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday outlined possible changes to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), the United Nations’ (UN) peacekeeping mission on the Israel-Syrian border on the Golan Heights.

Ban spoke at a periodic report on UNDOF’s performance, coinciding with the aftermath of Austria’s decision last week to withdraw its’ 380 soldiers from the peacekeeping force, a full third of the mission. The withdrawal came after UN troops were caught in the crossfire of fighting between opposition forces and Syrian government troops at the border town of Quneitra. Israeli officials expressed concern at the weakened UN presence and Israel’s International Relations Minister Yuval Steinitz said that it could have wider implications, commenting “Even as part of peace agreements, Israel cannot place its security in the hands of international forces.”

The UNDOF mandate is due for review at the end of the month and Ban yesterday called to bolster the force by “enhancing the self-defence capabilities of UNDOF, including increasing the force strength to about 1,250 [from 900] and improving its self-defence equipment.” He warned that Syria’s civil war could spark conflict between Israel and Syria, saying “The ongoing military activities in the area of separation continue to have the potential to escalate tensions between Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic and to jeopardize the cease-fire between the two countries.”

Reuters reports that Fiji will send troops to join the UNDOF force while Philippines is also readying to strengthen its numbers. However, Haaretz says that Sweden could take command of UNDOF and lead a pan-Scandinavian delegation.

Meanwhile, in Syria itself, government officials accused the Islamist opposition group, Jabhat al-Nusra, which has links to al-Qaeda, of carrying out a “massacre” in the village of Hatla. According to reports, at least sixty Shi’ites were killed in the incident, although it is unclear how many were combatants.