Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON [MENL] — The United Nations has acknowledged a reduction in
operations on the Golan Heights, now a war-torn region between Israel and
Syria.

Officials said the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has been forced to
suspend operations in the Golan Heights. They cited attacks by
Sunni rebels, including the abduction of 21 members of the contingent from
the Philippines earlier this month.

“We have had to reduce somewhat the footprint of UNDOF in the Golan
Heights in the area of operation,” UN undersecretary-general Herve Ladsous said.

In a briefing on March 26, Ladsous said officers have left UNDOF, which
monitors the 1974 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria. He said the UN has vacated two positions that came under fire.

“We had to adopt a posture which is somewhat more static,” Ladsous said.

The undersecretary said UNDOF has also taken security measures to avoid the abduction or bombing of its personnel. He cited the deployment of armored vehicles for patrols in the buffer zone on the Golan Heights.

Over the last four months, several contingents have either left or
severely reduced their presence in the Golan. Diplomatic sources cited the
departure of Canada, Croatia and Japan and the reduction in personnel by
Austria.

Ladsous, who earlier briefed the Security Council in a closed door
session, did not disclose those remaining from what had been a 1,000-member
monitoring force. He urged Sunni rebels and the regime of Syrian President
Bashar Assad to respect the neutrality of UNDOF.

“This call applies to all concerned,” Ladsous said.

The UN has been withdrawing other staff from Syria amid the
intensification of the Sunni revolt. On March 25, the UN reported the
pullout of half of its 100 foreign staffers in wake of heavy shelling near
their residence in Damascus.

“The United Nations Security Management Team has assessed the situation
and decided to temporarily reduce the presence of international staff in
Damascus due to security conditions,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

Nesirky said 800 Syrian staffers have been asked to remain home amid the
fighting around Damascus. He said mortar shells, apparently
fired by the rebels, landed on the grounds of a hotel that housed UN
staffers on March 24-25.

“There will still be in country enough people to be able to continue and
indeed to increase the range of work, particularly to reach people with food
aid,” Nesirky said.

  Bashar Assad, Herve Ladsous, quit posts in Golan Heights, UN Disengagement Observer Force, UN peacekeepers, under fire