Fresh clashes in the southwestern border region between Syria and Israel killed at least six Syrians, Syria's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

As of now, however, it remains unclear if those killed belonged to an armed group or if they were armed civilians from the Daraa Governorate in southern Syria.

According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), their troops returned fire after being attacked.

Israeli troops have been stationed inside a previously UN-controlled buffer zone along the border of the two countries since the ousting of Syria's long-term dictator Bashar Assad in December.

Israel initially said that stationing troops there was necessary in order to guarantee security while there wasn't a functioning Syrian government. But since then, Israeli officials have said troops will remain there permanently.

"Israel has severely infringed international law and not just by capturing Syrian land and illegally holding it," Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King's College London, told DW earlier........

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