UN peacekeepers return to southern Syria for first time in years

The United Nations peacekeepers have returned to the border area between Syria and the Israeli occupied Golan Heights for the first time in years, the Russian defence ministry said yesterday.

Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian Military General Staff told reporters in Moscow that the UN peacekeepers and the Russian military police organised the first patrol in the region on Thursday.

State Media: Syrian air defences destroy hostile target near Damascus

General Rudskoi explained that the Russian military police will set up eight Russian-manned observation points opposite the UN points “to rule out possible provocations”.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian Presidential Special Envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, said the Iranian forces have withdrawn their heavy weapons in Syria to a distance of 85 kilometres from Israel.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Syria suspended its work in 2014 because of the ongoing war in Syria.