United Nations Disengagement Observer Force

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UNDOF
operation area Golan Heights
German name United Nations troop contingent for disengagement
English name United Nations Disengagement Observer Force
Based on UN resolution 350 (May 31 1974)
Beginning May 1974
The End ongoing
management Major General Ishwar Hamal ( Nepal )
Military out Austria, Philippines, India, various nations (only in HQ)
Deaths 54 (as of December 2019)
Map overview
The Golan Heights

Map of the UNDOF zone (2011)

The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) is a contingent of troops, the result of the Resolution 350 of the Security Council of the United Nations of 31 May 1974 on the Golan Heights was sent. It is one of the longest running United Nations missions. The decision was preceded by an unbundling agreement between Syria and Israel , which was concluded in Geneva on the same day . Syria claims the area and counts it to its Quneitra governorate , whose capital of the same name is located in the area and has been largely destroyed.

Your task is to monitor this agreement in an area of ​​235 km² that lies between the Israeli occupied Golan Heights and the rest of Syrian territory. The area is inhabited and is monitored by the Syrian police. The largest and most famous city in this area is the ruined Quneitra . The UNDOF headquarters was in Damascus until 1994 , then in Camp Faouar (near Amret al Faouar).

Participating countries

At the end of June 2010, UNDOF had a strength of almost 1,100 people, 1,037 of whom were soldiers. The largest troop contingents at that time came from Austria with 375, from the Philippines with 344, from India with 190 and from Croatia with 95 soldiers.

Force Commander

Commanding officers were:

from ... to nationality Rank Surname
 June 1974 – Dec. 1974 PeruPeru Peru BGen Gonzalo Briceno
July 16, 1975-21. Apr. 1979 AustriaAustria Austria MGen (GenMaj) Hannes Philipp
Apr 21, 1979-25. Feb 1981 AustriaAustria Austria BGen (Brig) / Col (Obst d GstD) Günther Greindl (entrusted on an interim basis until November 30, 1979)
 March 1981-Apr. 1982 FinlandFinland Finland MGen Erik Kaira
 Feb. 1982-30. Jun. 1982 AustriaAustria Austria Col (fruit d GstD) Walter Schmitt (on an interim basis)
 June 1982 – May. 1985 SwedenSweden Sweden MGen Gustav Stahl
 June 1985 – May. 1986 FinlandFinland Finland MGen Gustav Hagglund
 July 1986 – Sep. 1988 SwedenSweden Sweden MGen Gustav Welin
03rd Sep 1988-1. Oct 1991 AustriaAustria Austria MGen (GenMaj) Adolf Radauer
 Sep 1991-Nov. 1994 PolandPoland Poland MGen Roman Misztal
 Jan. 1995-May. 1997 NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands MGen Johannes C. Kosters
 May 1997 – Aug. 1998 IrelandIreland Ireland MGen David F. Stapleton
 Oct. 1998 – Jul. 2000 CanadaCanada Canada MGen H. Cameron Ross
 Aug. 2000 – Aug. 2003 SwedenSweden Sweden MGen Bo Wranker
 Aug. 2003 – Jan. 2004 PolandPoland Poland MGen Franciszek Gągor
 Jan. 2004 – Jan. 2007 NepalNepal Nepal LtGen Bala Nanda Sharma
Feb. 11, 2007–1. March 2010 AustriaAustria Austria MGen (GenMaj) Wolfgang Jilke
 March 2010 – Aug. 2012 PhilippinesPhilippines Philippines MGen Natalio Cabili Ecarma
 Aug 2012 – January 2015 IndiaIndia India MGen Iqbal Singh Singha
January 2015– February 2016 NepalNepal Nepal MGen / LtGen Purna Chandra Thapa
February 2016 – September 2017 IndiaIndia India MGen Jai Shanker Menon
October 2017 - April 19, 2019 GhanaGhana Ghana MGen Francis Vib-Sanziri (died in action on April 19, 2019)
May 2019 - July 10, 2020 NepalNepal Nepal MGen Shivaram Kharel (interim)
since July 10, 2020 NepalNepal Nepal MGen Ishwar Hamal
  1. ↑ Colonel of the General Staff Service until Nov. 30, 1979

Effects of the Syrian Civil War

In September 2012, according to press reports from 2018, Austrians of the UNDOF troop knowingly ambushed a Syrian police patrol. According to the press report, nine Syrian police officers were killed. The Austrians had apparently recorded a video that was later leaked to the press. The video shows how the UN soldiers speak to the Syrian police officers beforehand and let them drive on without warning.

Due to the Syrian civil war that had been going on since 2011, the UNDOF units had largely withdrawn to the Israeli line (“Alpha”) in 2016. A return to the buffer zone (up to the "Bravo" line) is sought and supported by Israel (which is neutral in the internal Syrian conflict) and the Syrian government.

In early April 2018, according to Israeli observations, Syrian government troops began moving heavy weapons to the demilitarized zone. Tanks and artillery have therefore been pulled together to attack rebels on the Syrian southern border who are still holding on the Golan and in Darʿā areas.

Since August 2, 2018, soldiers from the UN peacekeeping forces have been deployed in the buffer zone for the first time in four years. Russia has also set up eight observation posts in the region.

Web links

Commons : UNDOF  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Deaths accessed November 18, 2018
  2. ↑ Fighters from the island paradise are supposed to help Austrians. Die Presse , April 11, 2013, accessed June 7, 2013 .
  3. ^ Fiji military prepares for Golan Heights mission. FBC, June 7, 2013, accessed June 7, 2013 .
  4. ^ Austria begins blue helmet withdrawal from the Golan. Deutsche Welle , June 12, 2013, accessed June 15, 2013 .
  5. ^ UNDOF HQ Military Staff List
  6. ^ Secretary-General Appoints Major General Purna Chandra Thapa of Nepal to Head United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. In: www.un.org. January 19, 2015, accessed February 17, 2018 .
  7. ^ Secretary-General Appoints Major General Jai Shanker Menon of India to Head United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. In: www.un.org. February 2, 2016, accessed February 17, 2018 .
  8. ^ Secretary-General Appoints Francis Vib-Sanziri of Ghana to Head United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. In: www.un.org. October 13, 2017, accessed February 17, 2018 .
  9. ↑ PRESS STATEMENT ON THE SUDDEN DEMISE OF THE UNDOF HOM / FC MAJOR GENERAL FRANCIS VIB-SANZIRI. In: https://undof.unmissions.org/ . PAO DPKO, April 20, 2019, accessed on May 22, 2019 .
  10. ↑ UNDOF LEADERSHIP. In: https://undof.unmissions.org/leadership . PAO UNPKO, June 28, 2019, accessed June 28, 2019 .
  11. ↑ " Waved by instead of warned" Wienerzeitung of April 27, 2018.
  12. ^ UNDOF (Golan Heights): September 2016 Monthly Forecast: Security Council Report. In: www.securitycouncilreport.org. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
  13. ↑ Michael Bachner: "Assad regime places tanks, artillery in buffer zone with Israel" Times of Israel of April 5, 2018.
  14. ↑ UN peacekeeping forces are patrolling again In: Israelnetz.de , August 3, 2018, accessed on August 6, 2018.