Slovakia takes lead at UN observer mission at Golan Heights

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

BRATISLAVA (AFP) — A Slovak officer has taken command for the first time of the UN observer mission on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Defence Minister Frantisek Kasicky said Thursday.

"This is a historic event in the 15-year history of Slovakia", Kasicky said after Lieutenant Colonel Michal Rohleder was nominated to head the mission on the ground for the next year.

The United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) established in 1948 after the first Arab-israeli conflict is the oldest UN observer mission and is made up of 150 military observers from 23 countries.

Slovak soldiers are also serving with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on the Golan Heights, which was established in May 1974 to supervise the disengagement...