The presence of Israeli troops who entered a U.N. buffer zone on the border with Syria following the fall of President Bashar Assad is frustrating the local population.

French journalist Sylvain Mercadier and his colleague Syrian lawyer Mohammad Al-Fayyad were detained and mistreated by Israeli occupation forces in Quneitra, Sy

Local residents want new government to push out IDF, which it accuses of demolishing homes and orchards; military source says army 'unaware of incidents'

In-depth: Israel took advantage of the Assad regime's collapse to expand its occupation of the Golan Heights, with Syrians in Quneitra wary of what comes next.

The post IDF detains and later releases French journalist in southern Syria appeared first on The Times of Israel.

A main road in the provincial capital of Quneitra in southern Syria was blocked with mounds of dirt, fallen palm trees and a metal pole that appeared to have once been a traffic light. On the other side of the barriers,

Israeli forces entered the area — which lies in a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights that was established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel — soon after the fall of President Bashar Assad last month in the country's 13-year civil war.

IDF forces are advancing into the city of Quneitra in southern Syria. Syrian sources report they have entered deep into the city, evacuating officials from public buildings after Syrian police entered the area yesterday.

A Syrian mayor told AFP he had meetings with Israeli officers as the military conducted incursions in his village inside a Golan Heights buffer zone, saying they had demanded locals relinquish their weapons.

Protests have been breaking out in some southern Syrian villages against a presence by the Israeli military, which seized control over the border area as the Assad regime collapsed.

Residents in Quneitra have expressed fear that Israeli forces will advance further in the area as Syria's new leaders have yet to take action against such.

Israeli forces entered the area soon after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad last month in the country’s 13-year civil war