UN peacekeepers' mandate extended in Golan Heights

The UN Security Council Thursday extended the mandate of the world body's peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights, and called on all parties to the Syrian conflict to cease military actions in the mission's area of operation.

In a resolution adopted here, the council decided to renew the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) for a period of six months until June 30, 2015.

The council stressed the obligation on both parties to "scrupulously and fully" respect the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Israel and Syria, urging the parties concerned to "exercise maximum restraint and prevent any breaches of the ceasefire and the area of separation," Xinhua reported.

It also said that there should be "no military activity of any kind" in the area of separation.

The most powerful UN body also strongly condemned the incidents threatening the safety and security of UN personnel in recent months, referring to the detention of 45 UNDOF peacekeepers by the Al-Nusra Front in August.

It urged member states to convey strongly to the Syrian armed opposition groups in UNDOF's area of operation the message of halting all activities that endanger UN peacekeepers on the ground and giving the peacekeepers the freedom to carry out their mandate safely and securely.

The UNDOF was established in 1974 in accordance with a Security Council resolution, following the agreed disengagement of the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights. Since then, the mission has remained in the area to maintain the ceasefire between the Israeli and Syrian forces and to supervise the implementation of the disengagement agreement.

Since March 2012, the Syrian civil war has spilled over into the mission's area of operation and clashes between the Syrian government and armed opposition groups have kept escalating.

The UN has withdrawn the peacekeepers from the Syrian side of the Golan Heights in September following the detention incident. Currently, there are 934 troops serving in the mission, who are from Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, and Netherlands.