Russian military police, UN mission in 1st joint patrol of Israeli-Syrian border

Russian military police and a UN mission have conducted their first joint patrol of the Golan Heights region at the Israeli-Syrian border, Deputy Commander of the Russian Forces in Syria Lt. Gen. Sergey Kuralenko has said. The Russian military police “has long been patrolling the entire demilitarized zone, but the joint patrol [of the territory] to the south of the Quneitra crossing took place for the first time today,” TASS quoted him as saying late Thursday. “The Russian military police ensures the safety of the UN team on the mission.” In the future, a joint patrolling mission could be carried out directly to the southernmost end of the demilitarized zone. On October 15, the Syrian national flag was hoisted on the Syrian side of the Quneitra crossing, separating the Syrian and Israeli forces at the Golan Heights. Syrian government forces earlier regained control over the southern areas and the UN peacekeepers returned to the line of separation with Israel.