ADVERTISEMENT

Golan, Russia seeks handover to UN

The faded UN logo on the hut's rusty roof was barely visible in Tal Krum, just inside the buffer zone that separates war-torn Syria to the east, from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to the west.

His back to the hilly Israeli side, the Russian army's Lieutenant-General Sergei Kuralenko on Tuesday told reporters on an organised press tour how "stability" had returned to the buffer zone.

Apart from "a few problems with the Islamic State" jihadist group in its southern tip, the demilitarised zone was "entirely under control of Syrian military police", Kuralenko said.

"Everything is ready" for the return of UN troops, he said, after the peacekeepers were forced to withdraw in 2014.

ADVERTISEMENT

With help from its Russian ally, President Bashar al-Assad's regime has expelled rebels and jihadists from large parts of the country's south since June.

After retaking most of the two southern provinces adjacent to the buffer zone, regime forces last month raised their flag inside, above the key border crossing of Quneitra.

The Russian military police have set up four observation points along the demarcation line on the Syrian side of the buffer zone, Kuralenko said, and plan to set up four more in the near future.

They are "willing to hand them over to the UN if it says it is ready to ensure the monitoring of the Golan alone", he said.

'Ensure security'

ADVERTISEMENT

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan from Syria in the 1967 "Six-Day War" and later annexed it in a move never recognised internationally.

In 1974, a UN peacekeeping mission was created to monitor the ceasefire line separating Israelis from Syrians.

But in 2014, the United Nations Disengagement Observation Force was forced to withdraw after Syrian rebels and jihadists overran it, briefly kidnapping more than 40 Fijian UNDOF troops.

UNDOF resumed its activities on the Syrian side in February, and earlier this month carried out its first patrol since 2014 to the Quneitra crossing.

"There should be no military forces in the area of separation other than those of UNDOF," according to a UN Security Council resolution in June.

ADVERTISEMENT

With that in mind, Russia is demining the areas around the observation posts abandoned in 2014 to help establish secure patrolling routes for the UN troops, Kuralenko said.

"Our mission here is to ensure security so that the UN flag can fly above their posts and that (UNDOF) work without restriction in the zone," he said.

A UN spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

But on Tuesday, Syrian Defence Minister Ali Abdullah Ayub received a UN delegation including UNDOF chief Francis Vib-Sanziri in Damascus, Syrian state news agency SANA said.

They spoke of redeploying UN forces on the Syrian side, it said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Iranians?

During the media tour Brigadier-General Muhammad Ahmad, from Syria's military police, accused the peacekeepers of fleeing when they were needed in 2014 but said they were welcome to return.

"The UN is welcome -- if it wants to cooperate with Russia and with us," he said.

In Hamidiyeh, less than a kilometre (mile) from the demarcation line with Israel, buildings lay in ruins and the white dome of its mosque appeared battered by bombardment.

In front of a destroyed bridge, two Syrian policemen observed a Russian military convoy drive past twice, flying its country's flag and with its gyrating lights on.

ADVERTISEMENT

Syrian military police patrol the area, "from time to time" helped by Moscow's forces, Russian army spokesman Igor Konachenkov told journalists on the press tour.

Though Russia has maintained friendly ties with Israel, it has backed Assad's regime alongside two sworn enemies of the Jewish state: Iran and Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

Israel has repeatedly pledged to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence along its border. A series of air strikes that killed Iranians inside Syria have been attributed to Israel.

Asked about any Iranian presence in the Golan, Konachenkov's face became tense.

"The Russian army has nothing to say about the presence or not of any Iranians," he repeated several times.

ADVERTISEMENT

Syrian military police members also systematically refused to answer the question.

In late July, Russia offered to keep Iranian forces 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the demarcation line, according to an Israeli official.

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng

Recommended articles

Peter Obi breaking fast with Muslims in Abuja mosque gets Nigerians talking

Peter Obi breaking fast with Muslims in Abuja mosque gets Nigerians talking

Video of weird school competition shows young students licking one another's feet

Video of weird school competition shows young students licking one another's feet

UniCal records highest number of first class graduates in 49 years

UniCal records highest number of first class graduates in 49 years

Army announces names of 17 soldiers killed in shocking Delta attack

Army announces names of 17 soldiers killed in shocking Delta attack

Ooni wants Ile-Ife, Modakeke indigenes to live together peacefully

Ooni wants Ile-Ife, Modakeke indigenes to live together peacefully

'Politics is not about being negative every time' — Peter Obi

'Politics is not about being negative every time' — Peter Obi

Army thinks Okuama community planned shocking murder of 16 soldiers in Delta

Army thinks Okuama community planned shocking murder of 16 soldiers in Delta

27,600 Benue women to receive grants, loans for business growth, self reliant

27,600 Benue women to receive grants, loans for business growth, self reliant

₦184 million per street light project and other shocking figures in 2024 budget

₦184 million per street light project and other shocking figures in 2024 budget

Pulse Sports

Super Eagles Bright Osayi-Samuel punches pitch invader as violence erupts following Trabzonspor vs Fenerbahce

Super Eagles Bright Osayi-Samuel punches pitch invader as violence erupts following Trabzonspor vs Fenerbahce

Naija Stars Abroad: Moffi, Chukwueze battle Oshoala, Echegini for POTW

Naija Stars Abroad: Moffi, Chukwueze battle Oshoala, Echegini for POTW

Report: Super Eagles get new coach for Ghana and Mali clash

Report: Super Eagles get new coach for Ghana and Mali clash

Osimhen misses out on N17b payday after Napoli's UCL loss to Barcelona

Osimhen misses out on N17b payday after Napoli's UCL loss to Barcelona

‘Thank you’ - Osimhen’s girlfriend Stefanie Ladewig grateful for being the mother of his child

‘Thank you’ - Osimhen’s girlfriend Stefanie Ladewig grateful for being the mother of his child

4 reasons why Victor Osimhen should choose Arsenal over Chelsea, Manchester United and PSG

4 reasons why Victor Osimhen should choose Arsenal over Chelsea, Manchester United and PSG

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT