An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 12 | by SGT WAYNE FITzGERALD PhotoS by CPL NEVILLE COUGHLAN AND AS CREDITED I n a statement on 1st May 2015 regarding Irish peacekeepers serving with UnDoF, Minister for Defence Simon Coveney tD said: "I am fully aware that peacekeeping operations are not without risk. How- ever, the safety of our troops is my priority. I am concerned at the recent incidents and will continue to monitor developments in the region." On 31st May 1974 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 350, estab- lishing the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), with a mandate to maintain the ceasefire be- tween Israel and Syria; supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces; and supervise the areas of separation and limitation, as provided in the Agreement on Disengagement. This mandate has been renewed every six months since. UNDOF is situated inside and on either side of the Area of Separation (AOS) on the Golan Heights. The AOS com- prises a hilly area, around 75km long, between 200m and 10km wide, which straddles the border between Syria and Israel. It is dominated in the north by Mount Hermon, Syria's highest mountain at 2,814m, and stretches south to the Jordanian border. The AOS is defined by Alpha line on the Israeli side and Bravo line on the Syrian side. The Disengagement Agreement prohibits Israeli or Syrian forces from entering the AOS and limits the amount of troops, weapons and armament permitted within 25km of their respective Alpha/Bravo lines. UNDOF is the only mili- tary force allowed in the AOS under the terms of the Agreement. UNDOF's current strength is 930 troops, 80 unarmed UNTSO military observers of Observer Group Golan (OGG), 58 international staff, and 110 local civilians. The troop-contributing countries are Fiji, India, Nepal, Ireland and the Neth- erlands. UNDOF fatalities since 1974 stand at 54 troops and one civilian. With the escalation of the Syrian civil war, which started in 2011, UNSC Resolution 2108 was adopted in June 2013, stressing the obligation of both Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic to painstakingly observe the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement and abide by its terms. In September 2013 Ireland began to contrib- ute to the UNDOF mission. The Defence Forces contribution consists of a Force Reserve Company (FRC), which must also provide a quick-reaction force (QRF) ready to deploy at short notice. De- ployment commenced with 43 Inf Gp, followed by 44, 46 and the current 48 Inf Gps. In September 2014, Ireland's 44 Inf Gp con- ducted a tactical withdrawal across the AOS to the Alpha line, as Force Commander Lt Gen Iqbal Singh Singha (India) deemed the situation along Bravo line unsafe for UN peacekeepers. He made this decision after a number of incidents, includ- ing the capture of 45 Fijian soldiers by insurgents, and the insurgent surrounding of 70+ Filipino peacekeepers in two posts. As FRC, troops from 44 Inf Gp were responsible for the rescue and safe return of the beleaguered Filipino soldiers. Prior to the 2014 relocation UNDOF had two camps, Ziouani (Alpha side) and Faouar (Bravo side), 20 permanently manned positions, eight outposts manned during daylight hours, and 11 observation posts.

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