LONDON: A Syrian official met the commander of the UN Disengagement Observer Force on Sunday to discuss closer coordination between Damascus and the peacekeeping mission, as Syria repeated accusations that Israel is violating the 1974 Disengagement Agreement in the south of the country. Saad Baroud, the director of international organizations and conferences at the Syrian Arab Republic’s Foreign Ministry, met Anita Asmah, UNDOF’s head and force commander, at the Foreign Ministry’s headquarters in Damascus, the state-run SANA News Agency reported. Ahmad Issa, the Defense Ministry’s director of international cooperation, also attended the meeting. The officials discussed ways to facilitate UNDOF’s work under its UN mandate, the ministry said. Syrian officials emphasized the force’s role in monitoring and reporting violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Syria and Israel. They called for more direct communication between UNDOF and relevant Syrian authorities, saying closer coordination was needed because of continuing Israeli violations of the accord. Improved coordination, the ministry said, would help the peacekeeping force carry out its mandate and contribute to regional security and stability. The meeting came after an UNDOF field visit in August to rural areas of the southern Quneitra province. Syrian authorities said the mission assessed conditions and reviewed the impact of what Damascus described as repeated Israeli incursions and other violations. Israel has reportedly carried out operations in southern Syria since the fall of longtime President Bashar Assad in late 2024, including incursions, raids on civilian homes, arrests, land clearing and shelling. A UN commission of inquiry said in September that Israeli military activity inside Syrian territory had become increasingly sustained and entrenched, citing ground incursions, patrols, raids, searches, temporary checkpoints and fixed military infrastructure, particularly in Quneitra and Daraa. The commission said some actions could amount to war crimes. Damascus has repeatedly demanded that Israel end its “occupation of Syrian territory.” Syrian authorities say Israeli actions in the area are illegal and have no legal effect under international law. They have urged the international community to press Israel for a full withdrawal from southern Syria.