Ceasefire announced in Syria after hundreds killed in sectarian violence
A ceasefire has been announced to try and end the violence in Syria involving government forces, Bedouin tribes, the Druze religious minority and neighbouring Israel.
More than 700 people have been killed following sectarian fighting which broke out last Sunday in the southern city of Sweida.
Syrian government forces were sent to restore order, but were accused of siding with Bedouins against the Druze.
Israel intervened on behalf of the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority within Israel and often serve in its military.
Israeli warplanes bombed the Syrian Defense Ministry's headquarters in central Damascus and also struck government forces in Sweida.
By Wednesday, a truce had been mediated that allowed Druze factions and clerics to maintain security in Sweida as government forces pulled out.
Early on Saturday, US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack announced a separate ceasefire had been brokered between Israel and Syria.
Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa blamed 'armed groups from Sweida' for reigniting the conflict by 'launching retaliatory attacks against the Bedouins and their families.'
Addressing the Bedouins, President al-Sharaa said: 'We thank the Bedouins for their heroic stances but demand they fully commit to the ceasefire and comply with the state's orders."
The President reiterated that Suweida 'remains an integral part of the Syrian state, and the Druze constitute a fundamental pillar of the Syrian national fabric," vowing to protect all minorities in Syria.
He also thanked the United States for its 'significant role in affirming its support for Syria during these difficult times,' as well as Arab countries and Turkey, who mediated Wednesday's truce.
More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
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