Special to WorldTribune.com

NICOSIA — The United Nations peacekeeping force in the Golan
Heights appears on the verge of collapse.

Diplomatic sources said members of the UN Disengagement and Observers
Force were fleeing the Syrian side of the Golan Heights for Israel. They
said the flight was in coordination with the Israel Army, which has been
preparing for the arrival of many of the 1,000 members of the UN force,
which began deployment in 1974.

“There is chaos right now in UNDOF, and some of the commanders are
already giving their men the option to run for Israel, right now the only
safe option,” a diplomat said.

The sources said most UNDOF contingents have left or were leaving Syria for Israel. On March 8, the Israel Army reported the flight of UN monitors from their positions in the Golan to Israel.

“Every contingent in UNDOF is packing its bags,” the diplomat said.
The Croatian contingent was the first to flee the Golan amid reports in
late February that Zaghreb was selling weapons to Sunni rebels in Syria. The sources said the Canadian contingent then began to withdraw from the Golan, followed by Austria. In December 2012, the Japanese contingent withdrew in wake of an attack on an Austrian convoy outside Damascus International Airport.

The UN flight was intensified by the abduction of 21 members of the
Philippines contingent by Sunni rebels. The Martyrs of the Yarmouk Brigades
claimed responsibility and demanded the withdrawal of the Syrian Army from
the Golan village of Jamla.

On March 9, Yarmouk transferred the 21 Filipinos to the Syrian border
with Jordan. By late afternoon, the UN personnel were in the custody of the
Jordanian Army. At the same time, the Israel Army began sending
reinforcements to the Golan.

“Already, the deterioration in security has prompted Japan, Canada, and
Croatia to withdraw their longstanding personnel contributions from UNDOF,”
the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said on March 8. “If the trend
continues, the remaining contributors are all but certain to curtail their
commitments as well, ending the only effective international monitoring
mechanism along the Israel-Syria border.”

  Golan Heights, Smackdown: UN peacekeepers in Syrian told to ‘run for Israel’, UN Disengagement and Observers Force, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Yarmouk Brigades