Operation GLADIUS

Operation GLADIUS is the latest stage of Canada’s long-standing participation in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria.

Task Force Golan Heights

Task Force Golan Heights consists of two Canadian Forces officers at the rank of major or lieutenant-commander with extensive operational experience. One officer is employed as Military Assistant to the U.N. Commander, and the other serves as the Senior Staff Officer at UNDOF Headquarters, located at Camp Faouar.

Mission context

The conflict

On 6 October 1973, war erupted between Egyptian and Israeli forces in the Suez Canal area and the Sinai Peninsula; and between Syrian and Israeli forces on the Golan Heights. On 24 October 1973, the second United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF II) was established to stabilize the situation in the Suez Canal area by separating the Israeli and Egyptian armies deployed there.

By March 1974, when the situation on Israel’s northeast border with Syria was becoming increasingly unstable, the United States undertook a diplomatic initiative that resulted in the signature on 31 May 1974 of the Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria.

The Agreement on Disengagement established the Area of Separation on the Golan Heights between the positions held by Syrian and Israeli forces at the time of ceasefire, where military forces are not permitted and only residents may come and go freely. Each side of the Area of Separation is further buffered by an Area of Limitation, where the movement of belligerent forces is permitted under strictly controlled circumstances.

The Agreement on Disengagement also called on the United Nations to authorize an observer force to supervise its implementation.

UNDOF origins and mandate

U.N. Security Council Resolution 350 of 31 May 1974 approved the Agreement on Disengagement and authorized the formation of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force — UNDOF — with up to 1,250 military personnel and a mandate to:

  • Maintain the ceasefire between Israel and Syria;
  • Supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces; and
  • Supervise the areas of separation and limitation as provided in the Agreement on Disengagement.

Since its formation, UNDOF has had its mandate renewed every six months.

UNDOF today

UNDOF maintains two base camps, 20 permanent positions, eight outposts manned during daylight hours and 11 observation posts within and close to the Area of Separation, which is more than 75 km long and varies in width from about 10 km in the centre to 200 meters in the extreme south.

UNDOF has 1, 041 troops in formed battalions to patrol the Area of Separation by day and night and provide the mission’s support services. The mission is also supported by 76 U.N. Military Observers from Observer Group Golan, part of the United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization (UNTSO, see Operation JADE).

Canada and UNDOF

Canada’s involvement with UNDOF began with the launch of Operation DANACA in June 1974. Op DANACA provided UNDOF with a Canadian Forces logistics and signals units that supported the entire mission.

Originally comprising more than 200 personnel, Op DANACA was scaled back to 186 when UNDOF was reduced in size in 1992 and 1993. By March 2006, when Op DANACA closed, some 12,000 Canadian soldiers, sailors and air personnel had served on the Golan Heights.

The initial rotation of Op GLADIUS consisted of four officers who remained in staff positions with UNDOF when the logistics unit deployed under Op DANACA returned to Canada. The mission was reduced to its current size in July 2006.

Related Links

Government of Canada

International organizations

Pertinent Documents