The Druze, a religious sect with roots in Ismailism, have faced violence in Syria. Their practices are secretive, with no conversions or intermarriage allowed.

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

Syria's Druze are concentrated in the southwest in the Sweida region bordering Jordan and in areas of Quneitra province, near the occupied Golan. They also reside in the Damascus

U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack says that Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire following Israel’s intervention this week in fighting between Syrian government forces and .

Scores of people have been killed in Syria's southern governorate of Suwayda after clashes began between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions. A ceasefire agreement was announced Wednesday after neighbouring Israel launched strikes on Syrian military forces,

Syria should not be allowed back into the international community unless it is able to uphold protections for the Druze and its other minority groups, Israel has said.

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.

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.

One woman tells the BBC she cowered in her home waiting for gunmen to enter and "decide whether we should live or die".