Syria said 23 people, including a woman and a child, were killed and 350 wounded on Sunday when Israeli troops fired on Palestinian protesters who surged against the fortified boundary fence on Syria's Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said live Israeli fire had caused casualties and U.N. monitors were "seeking to confirm facts."

Russia voiced "deep concern" about the flareup and the shooting of unarmed demonstrators, while the United States said it was "deeply troubled" by attempts to breach the Golan disengagement line and urged restraint on both sides.

Washington backed Israel's charge that by permitting the protests to take place, President Bashar al-Assad was trying to shift world attention from the security forces' killing of at least 1,100 Syrians engaged in anti-government protests.       

Reuters