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Russian military police help UN mission to reopen Syrian pass to Golan Heights

UN mission staff members were unable to work at their bases during the armed conflict on the Syrian territory, which was controlled by militants

QUNIETRA, August 3. /TASS/. Units of Russia’s military police helped to reopen a pass for the United Nations representatives to the Golan Heights across the Syrian territory for the first time in six years, Sergei Kuralenko, the chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said.

"We mark a big event today as for the first time since the beginning of the conflict in Syria a UN mission managed to drive along M7 highway to a UN checkpoint located in Al-Qunietra," Kuralenko said.

"In other words, they [UN mission] managed to clear the territory of Syria arriving at the location under control of Israeli troops," he added.

The Russian military official said that UN mission staff members were unable to work at their bases during the armed conflict on the Syrian territory, which was controlled by militants. The UN mission was also unable to access a refugee camp in Israel via Syria.

"The commander of the UN mission and its headquarters were located in Damascus and they had to travel across the territory of Lebanon for inspections of this area," Kuralenko said.

Chief of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate, Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi, reported on Thursday that the control over the Syrian-Jordanian border had been fully restored after an operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces and further assistance from the military police.