Hundreds of UN troops withdrew from the Syrian sector to the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan on Monday, two weeks after rebels kidnapped dozens of peacekeepers.
They crossed in a UN convoy in the afternoon into the Israeli-occupied sector.
The peacekeepers in the Golan Heights withdrew to the Israeli side after Syrian fighters advanced near their positions, a UN spokesman said.
The armed groups posed “a direct threat to the safety and security” of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) troops “along the ‘Bravo’ [Syrian] line and in Camp Faouar,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
UNDOF monitors a 1974 ceasefire between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights.
Separately, a new UN report on UNDOF submitted to the UN Security Council, an advance copy of which was obtained by Reuters, said the Syrian military and various armed groups have increased their presence along the ceasefire line in violation of the 1973 truce, forcing the mission to abandon key positions.
That was “significantly impacting the mission’s ability to carry out its mandate,” it added.
Late last month, extremists on the Syrian side including the al-Nusra Front seized the Quneitra crossing and kidnapped more than 40 Fijian UNDOF troops, before releasing them two weeks later.
They also clashed with 75 Filipino members of the force, who eventually fled a nearby outpost.
Dujarric said the situation on the Syrian side of the Golan “has deteriorated severely” and that “armed groups have made advances in the area of UNDOF positions.”
Rebels and extremists have now taken control of most of the Syrian side of the plateau from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a Britain-based Syria monitoring group said on Saturday last week.
The fighting has driven thousands of Syrian families from their homes.
“Clashes between government forces and the armed opposition have intensified in recent days in Quneitra governorate — in Quneitra City in particular, where access to clean water, food and healthcare is limited,” the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement.
The Red Cross said it has provided emergency relief for more than 50,000 people, but added that the number of displaced people was “expected to grow.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
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