Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United Nations has acknowledged that little was left of its peace-keeping mission on Syria’s Golan Heights.

Diplomats said attacks by Sunni rebels forced virtually all of the UN Disengagement Observer Force to abandon their positions in Syria. They said most of the 1,200-member force fled to the Israeli side of the Golan Heights, where some of them were recalled by contributing countries.

“This was because of an upward spiraling of violence,” Indian Army Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singh Singha, commander of UNDOF, said.

In a briefing to the Security Council on Oct. 9, Singha acknowledged that Islamic rebel militias have destroyed or captured most UNDOF facilities in the Syrian portion of the Golan, said to contain 10,000 rebels, many of them trained by the United States. The commander said the rebels stormed and damaged UN offices, seized weapons and abducted scores of peace-keepers.

“The process of adapting and carrying out the mandate differently during these trying times was not in a graduated manner, but all concerns were addressed simultaneously, to achieve significant cohesion in moving ahead and continuing to retain our relevance,” Singha said.

The UN released few details of Singha’s briefing. But diplomats said there were no more than 200 UNDOF staffers left in Syria, almost all of them in Camp Faouar. Most of the force has been deployed in the Israeli sector of the Golan, where they monitor the Syrian frontier.

“We adjusted to the situation very quickly and continue to evolve in the face of dynamically changing threats,” Singh said.

Diplomats said India and Ireland were the most active members in UNDOF. Over the last few months, Austria, Fiji and the Philippines withdrew their troops from Syria. The Philippines has blamed Singha for placing its peace-keepers in danger.

During the briefing, Singha said UNDOF was “occasionally” returning rebel fire. But the general acknowledged that UNDOF was forced to reduce its presence.

“UNDOF still skilfully maintains its mandate in a modified manner and has ensured that two traditional adversaries are kept away from a conventional war,” Singha said.

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