Syria slams 'flagrant' Israeli violation after deadly bombardment

DAMASCUS — Syria slammed Israeli attacks as a "flagrant violation" of its sovereignty after deadly bombardment Tuesday in the country's south, where Israel's military said it responded to incoming fire.

The violence near the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights followed Israeli air strikes in central Syria, the latest in a string of attacks on military sites since Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime president Bashar Al Assad.

The Syrian foreign ministry in a statement condemned "the continued Israeli aggression on Syrian territory, which saw a dangerous escalation in the village of Kuwayya" in the southern Daraa province.

It said "heavy artillery and air bombardment targeted residential and farming areas, leading to the death of six civilians", raising an earlier toll provided by local authorities. 

"This escalation comes in the context of a series of violations that started with Israeli forces' penetrating into Quneitra and Daraa provinces, in an ongoing aggression on Syrian territory, in flagrant violation of national sovereignty and international law," the ministry said.

Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli military said that its troops "identified several terrorists who opened fire toward them in southern Syria", without providing a specific location.

"The troops returned fire in response and the IAF (air force) struck the terrorists," it added in a statement.

Daraa governor Anwar al-Zoabi said in a statement that "Israeli occupation army violations and repeated attacks on Syrian territory pushed a group of residents to clash with a military force that tried to penetrate" Kuwayya, northwest of Daraa city.

The situation "led to an escalation" by Israeli forces "with artillery shelling and drone bombardment", said the statement posted on Telegram. 

‘Dangerous escalation' 

The foreign ministry in neighbouring Jordan condemned Tuesday's incursion and bombardment as "a dangerous escalation" that risked fuelling "further conflict and tension in the region".

Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites since Assad's fall in December, saying it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities it considers jihadists.

On Tuesday the Israeli military said it had "struck military capabilities that remained at the Syrian military bases of Tadmur and T4", referring to bases in Palmyra and another 50 kilometres west of the city.

On Friday, the military carried out strikes on the same bases.

Israel has also deployed troops to the Golan Heights buffer zone, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the demilitarisation of southern Syria, which borders the Israeli-annexed Golan.

United Nations special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the Security Council on Tuesday that he was "concerned by Israeli statements on the intention to stay in Syria" and demands for the full demilitarisation of the south.

At an Arab summit in Cairo in early March, Syria's interim President Ahmed Al Sharaa called on the international community to pressure Israel to "immediately" withdraw its troops from southern Syria, calling it a "direct threat" to peace in the region.