Syria's Sharaa vows to protect Druze rights

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority Thursday, after US intervention helped end deadly fighting between government forces and Druze fighters in the south.

- REUTERS

Overnight, the Islamist-led government's troops withdrew from the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, where scores of people have been killed in days of conflict pitting Druze fighters against government troops and Bedouin tribes.

One local journalist said he’d counted more than 60 bodies in the streets of Sweida Thursday morning. Ryan Marouf of Suwayda24 told Reuters he had found a family of 12 people killed in one house, including women and an elderly man.