Foreign Affairs Minister: 'I don't want Irish troops sucked into Syrian civil war'

Irish soldiers would have been killed or taken hostage by Islamist extremists last week

The 130 troops from the 46th infantry group will fly out from Dublin on Tuesday week for a six-month tour of duty

Jim Cusack and John Drennan

The fate of Ireland's mission in the Golan Heights is hanging in the balance this weekend, as Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan bluntly declared he did not want our UN troops sucked into "a Syrian civil war".

As the viability of the UN mission faces urgent review Mr Flanagan reflected the deep Government unease by saying: "This is a crisis; the situation remains extremely tense and my department is in daily contact with the UN.