Smoke rose from burning houses in south Syria's Sweida on Saturday and an Arab tribal fighter vowed to "slaughter" residents as deadly clashes with Druze fighters persisted.

BEIRUT (Reuters) -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,

Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the Druze-majority southern province of Sweida after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze religious minority that threatened to unravel the country’s fragile post-war transition.

Clashes flared up again Friday between Druze militiamen and Sunni Bedouin tribes around Sweida in southern Syria. Footage from the Al-Arabiya network showed fires burning on the roadside and a heavy presence of Syrian security forces and other armed men.

Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has urged Sunni Bedouin tribes to honor a ceasefire aimed at ending deadly clashes with Druze-linked militias Sweida.

At the center of a crisis in Syria are the Druze — a secretive religious minority that long carved out a precarious identity across Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Israel can’t intervene in every conflict around the world. But this felt different — it was a moral and familial obligation,’ says one Rabbi with a

DAMASCUS, Syria — Renewed clashes broke out overnight between Druze armed groups and members of Bedouin clans in southern Syria, and government forces were preparing to deploy again to the area Friday after pulling out under a ceasefire agreement that halted several days of violence earlier this week, officials said.

Attacks against Druze civilians, allegedly carried out by members of government forces, have multiplied in recent days in the city of Sweida and its surrounding areas, which remain cut off from the outside world.

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, announced early on Saturday that Syria and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. It comes after Israeli forces carried out several attacks against Syria,

Syria's Islamist-led government said its security forces were deploying in the predominantly Druze southern city of Sweida on Saturday and urged all parties to respect a ceasefire after days of factional bloodshed that has left hundreds dead.