Israeli troops clashed with Arab protesters yesterday along three hostile borders, including the frontier with Syria, leaving 16 people dead and dozens more wounded in an unprecedented wave of demonstrations marking a Palestinian day of mourning for their defeat at Israel's hands in 1948.

Along Israel's border with Syria, thousands of protesters stormed the fence and hundreds burst through, pelting soldiers with stones, the military said. Soldiers guarding the border opened fire to stop them. Dozens were wounded and four were reported killed.

Israeli defence officials said the military had not expected protesters to try to breach the border and was caught by surprise.

Pakistani Shiites, supporters of the Imamia Student Organisation, burn US and Israeli flags, during an anti American-Israeli rally in Karachi, Pakistan, yesterday.