Syria mortar fire hits Golan Heights

Syrian mortar fire has hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, causing fires but no casualties.

Mortar fire from inside Syria has hit the Israeli side of the Golan Heights, causing several fires to break out along the ceasefire line.

The shells strayed across the border on Tuesday as Syrian rebels and regime forces battled near Quneitra, which lies in no man's land, the correspondent reported.

Israeli tanks were stationed in the area.

An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed that "several mortar rounds fired from Syria exploded in northern Golan". She said it was likely stray fire and there were no casualties.

Late on Tuesday, however, shots were fired towards Israeli soldiers on the border although there were again no casualties, an army spokeswoman said, adding that troops returned fire and searched the area.

Israel's UN envoy Ron Prosor called on the Security Council to condemn the Syrian action, which he called a "grave violation" of a 1974 ceasefire accord between Israel and Syria.

In a letter to the council, Prosor said Israel has so far shown "maximum restraint" over fallout from the Syria conflict.

But he warned "the Israeli government will not allow its citizens to be the ongoing victims of these attacks and will continue to exercise its right to self-defence".

The Golan has been tense since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011.

Syrian small arms fire and mortar rounds have hit the Israeli side, prompting an occasional Israeli response, while abductions and incidents involving UN peacekeepers inside the Golan ceasefire zone have caused international concern.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world