U.N. in Talks with Europeans on 'Serious' Gap in Golan Force

The United Nations is "seriously concerned" about its shrinking peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights and is seeking to recruit troops from Europe to fill the gap, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.

The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), based on the tense border between Syria and Israel, has seen its numbers dwindle to around 530 from 1,050 after Japan and Croatia withdrew their contingents.

Austria, previously the top contributor, will pull out its 377 soldiers by the end of this month amid fears of escalating violence against peacekeepers, leaving a 530-strong force from the Philippines and India.

"This mandate of UNDOF in the Golan Heights is very important for maintaining peace and security in the region, not only in that area," Ban told reporters in Geneva.

He added that the withdrawal of Austrian forces was having an impact, "and we have been seriously concerned," Ban said.

UNDOF and the related 76-member U.N. Truce Supervision Organization monitor a ceasefire accord signed a year after the 1973 Yom Kippur War -- a conflict which saw Israel take over a slice of the strategic Golan Heights from enemy Syria.

Ban said he was in talks with several European countries, including Sweden, in search for new troops.

"They are in the process of discussing among themselves, and within their governments," he said.

He noted that, beyond Europe, Fiji has already stepped in to help.

The Pacific nation, which traditionally punches above its weight in U.N. peacekeeping operations, has started deploying troops to get UNDOF's number back above 900.

But the U.N. peacekeeping department would prefer the force's total deployment to be around 1,250.

Ban said he was hopeful that the U.N. would find troops to "fill the gap", and expressed confidence that "we are on the way".

The U.N. leader said that several potential contributors had already pledged to take part in a peacekeeping force in Mali, set up after African and French troops took on Islamist insurgents there earlier this year.

"Some of those countries have committed already to provide troops to Mali so, practically speaking, it may be the case that they have some constraints in providing further troops," Ban said.

The U.N. Security Council last week urged Syrian government troops and rebels to stay out of the Golan, amid concerns over violent incidents in what had been a relatively calm zone until the Syria conflict erupted in March 2011.