The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said the clashes started after members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida province set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the tribes and Druze armed groups.

Sectarian clashes have reignited in Syria, primarily between the government and Druze fighters. The conflict has drawn Israeli intervention and escalated fears of ethnic violence. Syria's postwar dynamics are fragile,

At least 203 people have been killed in sectarian fighting involving Sunni tribes, Druze militias and Syrian troops in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida since Sunday, a war monitor said

Israel says it is intervening to protect Syria’s Druze residents who have strong ties to Israel’s Druze community. Damascus called the attack a violation of sovereignty.

Syria’s defense minister has announced a ceasefire after government forces entered a key city in Sweida province on Tuesday.

Syria’s military entered a stronghold for the Druze minority in the country’s south on Tuesday to “pursue outlaw groups,” the government said, prompting Israel to launch strikes against the forces dispatched by Damascus.

Six members of Syria's security forces have been killed in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, a security source told Reuters, after they deployed to halt deadly sectarian clashes that local media reported had resumed on Monday.

Syrian forces had deployed in the southern city of Sweida, despite Israeli warnings, trying to contain clashes between members of the Druze minority and Bedouin.