Syria announces truce after sectarian clashes

Syria’s defence minister announced a ceasefire shortly after government forces entered a key city in Sweida province on Tuesday, a day after sectarian clashes killed dozens, while neighboring Israel again launched strikes in the area.

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Murhaf Abu Qasra said in a statement that after an agreement with the city’s “notables and dignitaries, we will respond only to the sources of fire and deal with any targeting by outlaw groups.”

The latest sectarian violence to emerge under Syria’s new leaders began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between members of local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a center of the Druze community. Syrian government security forces sent to restore order on Monday clashed with Druze armed groups.