Israeli Troops Face Resistance in Syria06/30 06:16

   

   ABDIN, Syria (AP) -- As Israeli troops and vehicles entered the town of 
Abdin in southern Syria, residents blocked the roads with rocks, and some young 
men and boys threw stones to push back the military patrol.

   Tensions in this part of the country created by a buffer zone occupied by 
Israeli forces have flared into violence in recent days, leaving residents 
anxious that more escalation is coming. Residents of Abdin, located near a 
U.N.-patrolled buffer zone now controlled by Israeli troops, tried to resist 
against a military incursion Sunday.

   Residents said Israeli troops fired warnings shots at walls and between the 
angry protesters, before firing artillery rounds at the village. No one was 
harmed in the exchange, but most residents fled, and most were still too afraid 
to return on Monday. Many fear that there will now be more intense incursions 
and raids following the skirmish.

   "They come into the village regularly, every few days," said resident 
Mohammad al-Hassan, standing not far from a group of children looking at an 
exploded shell. "They come in armored 4x4 vehicles, they roam around the 
village and search some houses, they knock on doors and if people don't answer 
the door they break it down and enter the houses. Women and children start 
screaming, it's a terrifying thing, them coming here."

   Israel says it needs buffer zones to prevent attacks

   Israel seized control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria in 
December 2024, following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in 
an insurgent offensive. Israeli officials initially described the move as 
temporary to protect their borders from militant groups, but more recently top 
Israeli officials have said they plan to occupy the buffer zone in Syria 
indefinitely.

   The Israeli military presence in southern Syria is part of a shift to a more 
aggressive strategy by Israel after the deadly October 2023 Hamas-led attacks 
in southern Israel. The Israeli military took over large portions of Gaza as 
part of a broad invasion, and later seized control of chunks of Lebanon -- 
where the Hezbollah militant group has fired missiles and drones across the 
border -- and Syria. Israel calls these areas "buffer zones" and says they are 
needed to prevent future attacks by militant groups.

   There have been no cross-border attacks from Syria into Israel since Assad's 
ouster, except for two rockets from a little-known militant group. But Israel's 
military incursions into southwestern Syrian towns have sometimes sparked 
resistance by residents that has spiraled into deadly clashes.

   Syrian officials condemn Israeli incursions

   Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has called on Israel to withdraw 
from the area that the U.N. says is 235 square kilometers (91 square miles). 
The Syrian government also condemned the Israeli incursion and shelling in 
Abdin.

   The clashes in Abdin were the second outbreak of violence in less than 24 
hours. Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military announced that it had killed 
armed men in southern Syria without giving details.

   An Israeli military official said Monday that Israeli soldiers had killed 
two militants who were planning on attacking Israeli troops. The official who 
spoke on condition of anonymity under military briefing rules did not specify 
where in Syria the incident took place.

   The mayor of the Syrian village of Hadar said two unknown people driving a 
pickup truck just south of the village were killed in an attack, and that their 
bodies were taken by the Israeli military.

   "There was the sound of an explosion when it happened," Imad Hassoun told 
The Associated Press. "They weren't from Hadar. If they were, we would 
immediately know."

   Regarding the incident in Abdin, the Israeli official said armed militants 
opened fired against one of the Israeli military's strongholds but nobody was 
harmed in the attack, without giving further details.

   Residents fear increasing instability

   People in Abdin were initially hopeful that US-mediated talks between Israel 
and Syria in France aimed at reaching a security agreement would diffuse 
tensions, but the talks appear to have stalled.

   Fearing the unstable security situation and struggling to cope with a lack 
of jobs and services, many residents who have lived in these towns are leaving 
elsewhere. The closest government security checkpoint to Abdin is some 10 
kilometers (6 miles) away, and those who choose to stay are struggling with 
water and electricity shortages.

   Sobhi al-Tawlbi, 66, says farmers have struggled to access their yield and 
sources of water.

   "We need the government to support us a little so we can remain steadfast in 
our villages," he said, asking for the international community to put pressure 
on Israel to stop its military incursions.

   Syrians living in that broader border area have maintained that they are not 
a threat to anyone and want a stable life, following over 13 years of civil war 
that decimated Syria.

   "Why are they bothering us? We are living here peacefully in this border 
area," said al-Hassan.