Austria has launched an investigation into whether its UN peacekeepers allowed Syrian police to drive into a fatal ambush in the Golan Heights in 2012, the defense ministry said on Saturday, inviting the UN to also take part in the probe.
A video made by the peacekeepers, published by Austrian weekly Der Falter on Friday, shows Syrian smugglers setting up an ambush behind rocks. One hour later, a white jeep with the Syrian police arrive and the Austrian peacekeepers allow them to pass.
The smugglers then ambush the police, killing nine of the officers. Discussions in the clip suggest that the peacekeepers knew they were letting the Syrian forces enter a trap, with one telling the other that “you should really tell them.” Austria withdrew its UN peacekeepers from the area in 2013, citing worsening security.