The Syrian government deployed its forces in the Druze-majority city of Sweida, in a bid by the Islamist authorities to extend their power to the area controlled by local armed groups.

The Syrian presidency vowed to punish those who committed violations against Druze-majority Sweida's residents, as government forces were accused of summary executions and other abuses by right groups,

Clashes between Syrian government troops and local 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,

Dozens of wounded and dead arrived at a hospital in Al-Mazraa in Syria's southern Sweida province on Tuesday following clashes between local militias, clans and government forces.

Israel launched a direct strike on the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus following escalating violence against Druze civilians in southern Syri

Syrian troops entered the predominantly Druze city on Tuesday following two days of clashes, the first time government forces have deployed to Sweida since the new government took power.

Peace in Syria's Sweida province has been shattered by deadly fighting that started between local Druze and Bedouin groups but has now pulled in the Syrian army and even led to Israeli airstrikes. The violence reportedly began after a young Druze man was attacked,

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei expressed concern over clashes in Syria and strongly criticized the U.N. Security Council's inaction in the face of the Israeli regime's aggression on Syria,