Guardian

Austria to quit UN force over Damascus violence

THE rebels  fighting Syrian government Thursday  briefly seized the only crossing along the Israel-Syria ceasefire line on the Golan, before regime forces recaptured it using tanks.

The fighting took place at the Quneitra crossing and the nearby village of the same in the demilitarised zone between the Syrian part of the strategic plateau and the Israeli-occupied sector.

The clashes were very close to the headquarters of a UN peacekeeping force, prompting Austria to announce it was withdrawing its troops from the mission, in a blow to a operation that has kept the Israeli-Syrian war front quiet for 40 years.

Israel is anxious for the international mission to remain in place, worried that the Golan will become a springboard for attacks on Israelis by Islamist militants fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But the departure of the Austrians, who make up about 380 of the 1,000-strong United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), threatens the whole operation.

“Austria has been a backbone of the mission, and their withdrawal will impact the mission’s operational capacity,” said UN spokeswoman Josephine Guerrero.

Anti-Assad rebels briefly seized the sole crossing between Israel and Syria  yesterday  morning, sending UN staff scurrying to their shelters, before Syrian soldiers managed to push them back and reassert their control of Quneitra.

“The Syrian army has recovered control of the crossing,” an Israeli security source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

An AFP correspondent near the crossing also confirmed that forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had retaken Quneitra, saying he could see regime tanks moving inside the area.

Quneitra is the only crossing point between Syria and the Israeli side of the Golan Heights which the Jewish state seized during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.

The Israeli military earlier confirmed that the crossing and the nearby town of the same name had fallen into rebel hands.

“We can confirm that opposition forces have overrun the town of Quneitra and the border post,” said Captain Arye Shalicar.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that monitors Syria’s two-year conflict, had also confirmed the takeover.

The Austrians pullout will have a significant impact on the size of the UN peacekeeping force, whose numbers dropped to around 900 in March after Croatia became the latest country to withdraw its soldiers, following similar moves by Canada and Japan.

UN peacekeeping spokesman, Kieran Dwyer, told AFP that talks were underway with other countries about sending troops to the Golan force.

Israel has long feared that the violence could force UNDOF to completely pull out, leaving the ceasefire zone open to infiltration by hardline militants.

“We appreciate the contribution and commitment of the Austrian forces to keeping the peace in the Middle East over the years, however we regret this decision, and express hope that it will not lead to an additional escalation in the area,” the foreign ministry said.

An Israeli security source described the developments on the strategic plateau as “very worrying.”

The army spokesman, meanwhile, said they were watching the situation “very closely.”

“We have to be ready for any development,” Shalicar told AFP.

yesterday  ‘s flareup prompted Israel to reinforce its military presence on the plateau, Israel’s public radio said.