UNSG calls for immediate de-escalation by Israeli forces, withdrawal from Golan buffer zone

By Anjali Sharma

UNITED NATIONS – UN head Antonio Guterres on Thursday has expressed concern over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes against targets in Syria since the overthrow of the Assad regime, called for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the demilitarized zone in the strategically important Golan.

Guterres in a note to correspondents issued on Thursday said he was “deeply concerned by the recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

It said that since the de facto authorities of the HTS armed group took control of Damascus on Sunday, Israeli forces reportedly took over an abandoned Syrian military post overlooking the city in the Golan border region and other parts of the “areas of separation” between Israel and Syria.

UN Disengagement Observer Force was established by the Security Council in May 1974 to maintain the ceasefire between Israeli and Syrian forces in the mountainous Golan and supervise the areas of separation.

Israeli forces have not only moved into parts of the separation zone they said on a temporary basis only until new security measures are put in place but also conducted a “defensive” air campaign against weapons stockpiles, military facilities and assets such as airfields, as well as bombing naval vessels off the Syrian coast.

The statement said “The Secretary-General is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria,”

It called for urgent de-escalation “on all fronts, throughout Syria.”

UN said that many areas of Syria are not under the control of HTS, with several armed groups holding territory in the south, the far north and the north-east, where Kurdish fighters have reportedly captured the town of Deir-ez-Zor.

Designated terrorist group ISIL affiliates also maintain a foothold in central Syria, where US warplanes have been targeting them this week.

Guterres stressed that the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement “remains in force” and must be upheld, “including by ending all unauthorized presence in the area of separation and refraining from any action that would undermine the ceasefire and stability in Golan.”

He also stated it is “imperative to support credible, orderly and inclusive transitional arrangements in Syria.”