Troops quit Druze heartland after violence

Syrian troops pulled out of the Druze heartland province of Sweida on orders from the government, following days of deadly clashes that killed more than 500 people, according to a war monitor.

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The southern province has been gripped by deadly sectarian bloodshed since Sunday, with hundreds reportedly killed in clashes pitting Druze fighters against Bedouin tribes and the army and its allies.

The city of Sweida was a shadow of its former self on Thursday, AFP correspondents on the ground reported, with shops looted, homes burnt and bodies in the streets.

"What I saw of the city looked as if it had just emerged from a flood or a natural disaster," Hanadi Obeid, a 39-year-old doctor, told AFP.