Austria: Peackeepers may quit Golan if EU arms rebels

Austria may pull its peacekeeping troops from the Golan Heights, its defence minister warned on Tuesday.

Vienna's warning was aimed at Britain and other allies which want to help Syrian rebels by lifting an EU arms embargo - doing so, minister Gerald Klug told Reuters, would rob Austrian troops of their neutrality. He stopped short of saying an end to the EU arms ban would automatically prompt the departure of the 380 Austrian soldiers. But their withdrawal after four decades keeping the peace would leave a huge hole in the already troubled, 1,000-strong UN force. (Reuters)