UN staffer missing on Israel-Syria border

Sky Arabia says Carl Kampo, Austria-born legal advisor to force monitoring ceasefire abducted on February 7

Roi Kais, Yoav Zitun

Sky Arabia reported Monday that an advisor to the commander of the United Nations force monitoring the ceasefire in the Golan Heights (UNDOF) was kidnapped on February 7.

According to reports, Carl Kampo is a legal advisor from Austria. No further details were immediately available and the report has not been officially confirmed.

The United Nations confirmed a member of the UN peacekeeping force is missing.

"We can confirm that a staff member is not accounted for and we are in touch with the relevant parties to determine what has happened," UN deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said Monday. "We have no further comment at this time."

The UN would not say whether the missing person was a peacekeeper or a civilian staff member.

Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV also quoted reports saying that an advisor to the UNDOF commander was abducted. Several Lebanese media outlets quoted the Sky Arabia report.

Syrian rebels have recently gained control over several towns in the Golan area but it remains unclear whether they were involved in the kidnapping.

New fence on Israel-Syria border

IDF sources believe that Syrian villages near the border are home to global terror operatives who may be planning a major attack. The IDF recently detected Syrian intelligence gatherers who disguised themselves as shepherds and in response deployed combatants from elite units in the area.

IDF forces in Quneitra crossing (Photo: Avihu Shapira)

UNDOF Commander Iqbal Singh Singha was recently summoned for a meeting by the Syrian Foreign Ministry following reports of an alleged Israeli strike in Syria. According to the SANA news agency, Damascus formally protested the alleged strike claiming that Israel had violated the 1974 ceasefire agreement.

In response, the United Nations chief's spokesman stated that UNDOF did not detect any Israeli warplanes entering Syrian airspace. He further noted that there were severe weather conditions at the time of the alleged Israeli airspace intrusion.

The UN force was established in 1974, following the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and Syria wants the land returned.

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