Syrian security forces are deploying in the restive province of Suwayda after days of communal fighting in which hundreds of people have been killed, the country’s interior ministry says.

Sectarian-tinged clashes left hundreds dead and attracted Israeli military intervention. A U.S. envoy said Israel and Syria had agreed to a truce.

Historically, the Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethno-religious minority who are spread across Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. The Druze faith is an esoteric offshoot of Shia Islam with a distinct set of beliefs and practices.

Sectarian clashes escalated in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida on Saturday, with machinegun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after

The Syrian government announced a ceasefire Tuesday after it intervened to quell the deadliest outburst of sectarian violence since March, clashes that prompted Israeli airstrikes. The ceasefire, however,

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.

One elderly man had been shot in the head in his living room. Another in his bedroom. The body of a woman lay in the street. After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida, survivors emerged on Thursday to collect and bury the scores of dead found across the city.