Troops prepare for their deployment to the Golan Heights during a Mission Readiness Exercise in Wicklow last week.

Deployment of local troops to Golan Heights delayed


The deployment of 115 Irish troops, including 12 from Custume Barracks, to the Golan Heights has been delayed by two to three weeks.
The delay is at the request of the UN and is due to the administrative reasons, Defence Forces spokesman Comdt Denis Hanly confirmed today.
The advance party of troops had been due to leave Ireland today, with the main party due to deploy in the third week of September. The advance party’s deployment has been delayed by two to three weeks and the main body of troops will leave about a week later.
It is expected all troops will be on the ground by the end of September or beginning of October.
The soldiers will spend six months in the Golan Heights as part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) mission. The Golan Heights is an area of high ground between Syria and Israel.
While it is the first time Ireland has committed a contingent to the UNDOF mission, which has been in place since 1974, an Irish officer previously served with the mission from June 1997 to August 1998 when Brigadier General Dave Stapleton (who was subsequently Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces) served as the force commander.
Defence Forces Press Officer Commandant Denis Hanly explained this week that the contingent was not being deployed as part of the Syrian Civil War, but rather as part of UNDOF, which was established by the UN in 1974 following the agreed disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights after the ending of the Yom Kippur War.
There are currently three Irish troops based there ahead of the main contingent, where they are completing administration duties.
Comdt Hanly explained that the purpose of UNDOF is to observe and report and de-escalate any situations that arise. Specifically the Irish contingent will act as the Force Mobile Reserve, meaning they will be patrolling, carrying out escorts and will be on stand-by for deployment.