Austria announced Thursday, June 6, 2013, the withdrawal of its troops from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), established at the end of the 1973 war to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights.

After the retreat of the Japanese and the Croats, only 500 Indians and Filipinos will remain.

President Vladimir Putin suggested they could be replaced by Russian soldiers, if the UN and the international community so wish. His proposal was immediately endorsed by Ferhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the United Nations.