UN delegation inspects Syrian town in occupied Golan Heights after Israeli withdrawal

By Laith Al-Jnaidi and Ahmed Asmar

ISTANBUL (AA) - A UN delegation visited Al-Salam City in the southern Quneitra province in Syria’s occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday after Israeli troop withdrawal from the area.

The delegation inspected the governor’s office in the city, two days after Israeli forces pulled out from the building, the Quneitra Governorate said in a statement.

On Sunday, the Israeli army withdrew from Al-Salam City, formerly named Baath City, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

Footage captured by Anadolu showed damaged government and courthouse buildings, roads flattened by bulldozers, destroyed equipment, and burned and shredded papers and belongings in the city.

The Israeli army occupied the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights early December 2024, violating the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria, in a move that expanded Israel's control over the territory, most of which it has occupied since the 1967 Middle East War.

Bashar Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party’s regime, which had been in power since 1963.