UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Europe and the United States heaped criticism on Syria at the United Nations on Thursday after failing to persuade Russia to support condemning Damascus for its crackdown on anti-government protesters.
The occasion was the renewal of the mandate for a U.N. observer force in Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, where Israel accuses the Syrian government of orchestrating deadly confrontations between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops on May 15 and June 5.
As expected, a resolution renewing the mandate for another six months until the end of this year received unanimous support from all 15 council members.
Normally the mandate renewal for the four-decade old force, known as UNDOF, is a routine event without fanfare or controversy. This year the situation was different as U.S. and European Union diplomats tried to include language condemning Syrian “human rights abuses” in the initial U.S.-drafted text.
Russia, backed by China, threatened to veto UNDOF’s mandate
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