An Cosantóir

20 | Irish Troops Deploy to UNDOF by Wesley Bourke Photos by Cpl Neville Coughlan S ubsequent to approval by government earlier this summer 43 Inf Gp was established with the requirement to be ready to deploy to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on the Golan Heights by September. Following the 1973 War between Israel and Syria and Egypt, UNDOF was established by Security Council Resolution 350 on May 31st 1974 to: maintain the ceasefire between Israel and Syria; supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces; and supervise the areas of separation and limitation, as provided in the May 1974 Agreement on Disengagement. It is a Chapter VI mission. In order to carry out its mandate, UNDOF maintains an area of separation, which is over 75kms long and approximately 10kms deep in the centre. The terrain is hilly and is dominated in the north by Mount Hermon, which is the location of the highest permanently manned UN position at an altitude of 2,814m. While the Area of Separation is inhabited, governed and policed by the Syrian authorities, no military forces other than UNDOF are permitted within it. The UN mission is entirely deployed within and close to the Area of Separation, with two base camps, a headquarters at Camp Faouar, 20 permanently manned positions, eight outposts manned during daylight hours, and 11 observation posts. UNDOF currently consists of 1,250 personnel, under the command of Maj Gen Iqbal Singh Singha from India, and troops are provided by Fiji, the Philippines, India, Nepal, and Ireland. There are also 78 personnel from UNTSO's (United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation) Observer Group Golan under the direct command of Force Commander UNDOF. This is the first time Ireland has deployed a full contingent An Cosantóir October 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie to UNDOF but our involvement in the mission goes back to 1997/98 when Lt Gen Dave Stapleton (Retd) served as Force Commander. 43 Inf Gp is commanded by Lt Col Brendan Delaney, who has served in the region on two tours with UNIFIL and 18 months' service with UNTSO, six of which were spent in Syria. Speaking to An Cosantóir at the mission readiness exercise (MRE) Lt Col Delaney said: "We will be based in Camp Faouar and our primary role will be as the Force Reserve Coy. As well as carrying out routine patrols quite similar to the patrols Irish personnel conduct in South Lebanon, we will also be available to assist in an area where the situation may have escalated. The Syrian civil war is still ongoing and has presented challenges to UNDOF. We are there to maintain the peace under UNSC Resolution 350 and must remain impartial." Regarding difficulties posed by the current Syrian conflict, troops from several contingents have been detained by rebel factions and several peacekeepers have been wounded by rounds landing in UN posts. With the apparent use of chemical weapons in Damascus taking place recently, UNDOF personnel now have to be even more vigilant. "Like any mission, our peacekeepers train for every eventuality," DCO Comdt Timothy O'Brien told us. "Dur-

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