UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Maj Gen Iqbal Singh Singha of India as the Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), a peacekeeping operation tasked with maintaining ceasefire between the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights.
Singha, 56, succeeds Maj Gen Natalio Ecarma of the Philippines, who will complete his assignment on August 13. “Major General Singha brings to his new position extensive command experience and knowledge of peacekeeping attained through service at the national and international levels,” a statement from Ban’s spokesperson said here.
From early March 1974, the situation in the Israel-Syria sector became increasingly unstable and and firing intensified. UNDOF was established on May 31, 1974 by a Security Council resolution following the agreed disengagement of the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights. Since then, UNDOF has remained in the area to maintain the ceasefire between the Israeli and Syrian forces and to supervise the implementation of the disengagement agreement.
Prior to his appointment, Singha was the General Officer Commanding Infantry Division, a position he held since 2010.