DAMASCUS, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israeli troops on Friday opened fire on demonstrators in the village of Ma'riya, west of Daraa province in southern Syria, wounding at least one protester, according to local al-Watan Online news outlet.
The demonstrators were reportedly demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Israeli forces advanced further into the western outskirts of al-Rafid in Syria's southern Quneitra province, marking a significant escalation near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Citing witnesses, the observatory described a heavy presence of Israeli military vehicles and a heightened state of alert in the area.
The observatory noted that on Wednesday, Israeli troops advanced approximately nine kilometers into rural Daraa, entering the village of Kuwaya and the historic al-Wahda Dam near the Syrian-Jordanian border.
It added that Israeli forces also moved into the 74th Battalion compound belonging to the previous Syrian army near the village of Sayda, straddling the administrative boundary between Quneitra and Daraa provinces.
These incursions mark a significant violation of Syrian sovereignty and further strain an already tense situation in the south amid the absence of firm diplomatic efforts to de-escalate, said the observatory. ■
