Swiss major-general named acting head of UN observer force in Golan Heights

Major-General Patrick Gauchat has been appointed acting head of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights, which was annexed by Israel in 1981, the Swiss government announced on Monday. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The UN had asked Gauchat to take over command of UNDOF in addition to his current role as head of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO). He will perform this function ad interim, until the new force commander, who was recently appointed by the UN Secretary-General, takes up her duties. UNDOF was set up by the UN Security Council in 1974 to monitor the ceasefire and withdrawal agreement between the Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights following the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Translated from German with DeepL/gw How we work This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an ...