Dozens of people have been killed in armed clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias in southern Syria, according to local media reports.
The violence erupted in the predominantly Druze city in the province of Suweida on Sunday, two days after a Druze merchant was reportedly abducted on the highway to Damascus.
The interior ministry said security forces had been deployed to restore calm but fighting continued in western parts of the province on Monday.
It is the latest outbreak of deadly sectarian violence in the country since Islamist-led rebel forces overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Syria’s many minority communities – including the Druze, whose religion is an offshoot of Shia Islam with its own unique identity and beliefs – have expressed concerns over the new authorities’ pledges to protect them.
The exact death toll from this latest fighting is unclear. Local activist-run news outlet Suwayda 24 reported “dozens” of people had died in the fighting, and over 200 had been wounded.
The country’s interior ministry earlier reported that at least 30 people had been killed, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) – a UK-based monitoring group – also reported dozens of deaths – including children, Bedouin and members of Syria’s defence forces.
The BBC has been unable to independently verify these figures.
The Israeli military on Monday said it had attacked several tanks that it believed were heading towards Suweida.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on Telegram that the tanks potentially posed a threat to Israel and that it would continue to monitor the situation in southern Syria.
Israel’s Channel 14 reported the attack came after “suspicious movements” that suggested the tanks were heading toward a Druze-populated area.
The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has previously vowed to protect the Druze religious minority during outbreaks of sectarian violence in Syria.
Sunday’s clashes between Bedouin tribesmen and Druze militias began in the al-Maqwas neighbourhood of Suweida city.
The area, which is inhabited by Bedouin, was reportedly encircled and later seized by armed Druze fighters.
The fighting soon spread into other parts of Suweida province, with tribesmen reportedly launching attacks on Druze towns and villages on the city’s western and northern outskirts.
SOHR said the towns of Sumay and Mazraah were shelled, and that residents of the village of Tayrah fled after armed men entered the outskirts and set fire to several homes.
On Monday, Suwayda 24 reported that another bout of fighting erupted in the western countryside of Suweida after drones attacked villages at the same time as government forces deployed in nearby areas of eastern Deraa province.
The violence broke a brief period of calm following a mediation between Bedouin and Druze leaders that reportedly took place on Sunday night. According to Suwayda 24, this resulted in the release of people kidnapped by both sides during Sunday’s clashes.
Shortly after the fighting began, Syria’s interior ministry said: “This dangerous escalation comes in light of the absence of relevant official institutions, leading to worsening chaos, a collapse of the security situation, and the local community’s inability to contain the crisis despite repeated calls for calm.”
It added that interior ministry forces, in co-ordination with the defence ministry, would “begin direct intervention in the area to end the conflict and impose order”.
The governor of Suweida, Mustapha al-Bakur, called on his constituents to “exercise self-restraint and respond to national calls for reform”.
Several Syrian Druze spiritual leaders also appealed for calm.
At the start of May, more than 130 people were reportedly killed in clashes between Druze gunmen, security forces and allied Sunni Islamist fighters in two suburbs of the capital Damascus and Suweida province.
In the wake of that fighting, the government reached an agreement with Druze militias to hire local security forces in Suweida province from their ranks.
