Escalating unrest lays bare regime's momentous challenge

SEven months on from Bashar al-Assad's fall, Syria is battling yet another wave of bloody sectarian violence.

- William Christou

A local dispute between a Bedouin tribesman and a member of the Druze minority sparked clashes that drew in Syrian government forces and triggered Israeli airstrikes - leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

The scenes were reminiscent of the coastal massacres of March, when 1,500 mostly Alawite civilians were slaughtered in revenge for a failed assault by fighters loyal to Assad, who came from the sect.

The killings have halted the enthusiasm that abounds over the new Syrian state and are a grim reminder of the momentous challenges it faces in unifying the country after nearly 14 years of brutal civil war.

The Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa - whose Sunni Islamist group led the offensive that ousted Assad - has won the hearts of most of the western world; his success in international diplomacy rivalled only by his stunning battlefield victories. Donald Trump has called him an "attractive, tough guy", while the EU was swift to bring Sharaa's Syria out of international isolation.

At home, however, progress has been halting. Syria is still deeply divided, and negotiations to integrate the one-third of the country controlled by Kurdish forces has stalled. Talks to fully integrate the Druze-majority province of Sweida, where the current violence has been unfolding, have been slow moving.