Austria to quit UN's Golan force over Syria violence

June 06, 2013 22:40

Austria said on Thursday it would pull out of a UN force on the Golan Heights after battles between Syrian troops and rebels there, in a blow to a mission that has kept the Israeli-Syrian war front quiet for 40 years.

Israel is anxious for the international mission to remain in place, worried that the Golan will become a springboard for attacks on Israelis by Islamist militants fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But the departure of the Austrians, who make up about 380 of the 1,000-strong United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, threatens the whole operation.

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