Golan Heights (CNN) -- Israeli troops fired on protesters trying to cross the fortified border between Syria and the occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, with Syrian authorities reporting more than a dozen dead and hundreds wounded. The protests came on the anniversary of the 1967 Middle East War, when Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria. The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately confirm any casualties, though a spokeswoman said that Israeli troops used tear gas and live ammunition on members of an "angered mob." "We warned them verbally (and) with warning shots into the air," Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich told CNN. "And when these two options failed, we had to open fire selectively into the area, and this actually stopped those Syrians from reaching the Israeli-Syrian fence."
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A U.N. spokesman condemns the violence and calls for restraint
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Syria says 23 people were killed and 350-plus wounded
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Israel says it faced an "angered mob" across the Syrian border
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At least six Palestinians were injured in a separate protest in the West Bank
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The number later dropped to about 50, with protesters waving @placeholder and Syrian flags.
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The number later dropped to about 50, with protesters waving Palestinian and @placeholder flags.
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The clashes come three weeks after similar demonstrations marking the 1948 birth of the Jewish state -- a day of mourning for @placeholder, more than 700,000 of whom were displaced from their homes during the fighting that followed.
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Leibovich accused @placeholder of trying to use the protests to create a diversion "from the bloodshed that is taking place inside Syria," where the United Nations says a crackdown against anti-government protests has left more than 1,000 dead.
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Leibovich accused Syria of trying to use the protests to create a diversion "from the bloodshed that is taking place inside Syria," where the @placeholder says a crackdown against anti-government protests has left more than 1,000 dead.
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Leibovich said Israeli troops were better prepared to deal with the demonstrations than with the May 15 protests, beefing up forces along the frontier and making clear "that we would not tolerate any infiltration into the @placeholder side."