UN Peackeeping member missing in Golan

The United Nations announced that a member of the UN peacekeeping mission monitoring the separation zone between Israeli and Syrian troops on the occupied Golan Heights is missing. "We can confirm that a staff member is not accounted for and we are in touch with the relevant parties to determine what has happened," UN deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said. "We have no further comment at this time." The UN would not say whether the missing person was a peacekeeper or a civilian staff member. Austria, Croatia, India, Japan and Philippines are currently contributing military personnel to the UN Disengagement Observer Force, known as UNDOF, according to the website of the UN Peacekeeping Department. It does not list the nationalities of civilian staff. The total force is comprised of around 1150 people. The UN force was established in 1974, following the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and Syria wants the land returned. In December, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accused the Syrian government of serious violations of the separation agreement.