Russian military police ensure peace in Syria’s Quneitra province, chief says

Russian military police units deployed to the ceasefire line on the Golan Heights have secured stability and peace in Syria’s Quneitra province, Chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Military Police in Syria Colonel Alexander Bezklubov told reporters.

According to him, since the Russian military drove militants out of the area a year ago, local residents have been reconstructing their destroyed homes and building new houses.

Bezklubov added that officers deployed to the Russian observation points were monitoring ceasefire violations and Israel’s airstrikes on Syrian targets.

The Golan Heights, which had belonged to Syria since 1944, were seized by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1981, the Israeli parliament passed a law unilaterally declaring sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The UN Security Council declared the annexation null and void in its Resolution 497 on December 17, 1981.

During the Syrian war, a large sector of the Heights not controlled by Israel was seized by Syrian anti-government groups and retaken by Damascus in the summer of 2018. Russian military police are deployed to the Bravo Line in the eastern part of the Golan Heights.