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Defence Minister says UN mission near Syria needs to be reassessed

Defence Minister Simon Coveney says the UN mission to the Golan Heights needs to be reassessed in...
Newstalk
Newstalk

07.43 29 Aug 2014


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Defence Minister says UN missi...

Defence Minister says UN mission near Syria needs to be reassessed

Newstalk
Newstalk

07.43 29 Aug 2014


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Defence Minister Simon Coveney says the UN mission to the Golan Heights needs to be reassessed in light of the escalating civil war in Syria.

More than 190,000 people have been killed in the war to date - with the situation deteriorating even further in recent months.

Yesterday, more than 40 UN Observer Mission troops were captured by Syrian rebels at a border crossing with Israel.

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Minister Coveney has restated Ireland's commitment to the mission, ahead of the deployment of 130 Irish Defence Forces members to the Golan Heights next month.

But he says the role of the UN in the region was never supposed to be keeping warring factions within Syria apart and needs to be reassessed:

Humanitarian emergency

More than three million Syrians are now known to have fled the civil war in the country and become refugees.

The United Nations says it's now the "biggest humanitarian emergency of our era", with almost half of all Syrians forced to flee their homes.

The situation has deteriorated even further in recent months - sparked by the rise of the Islamic State (IS) militant group, which now controls a large part of Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

Islamic State has released videos reporting to show hundreds of executed Syrian fighters.

President Barack Obama called for a coalition of countries prepared to take military action against IS.

Mr Obama said the US was working to get more countries on board in order to strike at the jihadist group.

Mr Obama played down the prospect of imminent US military action in Syria, saying "we don't have a strategy yet", but said it was time for Middle Eastern nations to "stop being ambivalent".

France has already ruled itself out. The UK has so far provided humanitarian assistance and Prime Minister David Cameron has said he does not want troops on the ground.

Originally posted 7:40am


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