The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said the clashes started after members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida province set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the tribes and Druze armed groups.

Syria's defense minister has announced a ceasefire just hours after government forces entered a key city in the volatile Sweida province.

Israel launched several deadly airstrikes that targeted Syrian government forces in Sweida. The attack came as sectarian violence flared between Druse fighters and Bedouin tribal groups.

Following the deaths of dozens of Druze in Suwayda, southern Syria, Bianna Golodryga speaks to Dareen Khalifa from the International Crisis Group about how this is jeopardizing a fragile sense of stability in a country facing deep sectarian divisions.

Israeli troops on Wednesday sought to control crowds and prevent Druze from crossing into Syrian territory, after deadly sectarian violence prompted Damascus to send government forces to Syria's south.

Israel says it is intervening to protect Syria’s Druze residents who have strong ties to Israel’s Druze community. Damascus called the attack a violation of sovereignty.

The Syrian foreign ministry accused Israel of “treacherous aggression” as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the move.

(Reuters) -Clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters resumed in the southern Druze city of Sweida early on Wednesday, just hours after a ceasefire was announced. Local news outlet Sweida24 said the city and nearby villages were coming under heavy artillery and mortar fire early on Wednesday,