Clashes resume in Syria's Sweida city

DAMASCUS — Clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters resumed in the southern Druze city of Sweida early on Wednesday, wrecking a ceasefire announced just hours earlier that aimed to put an end to days of deadly sectarian bloodshed.

The outbreak of violence in the Druze-majority province of Sweida in southern Syria has highlighted frictions among Syria's diverse communities, with minorities feeling deep distrust toward the Islamist-led interim government.

Syrian troops were dispatched to the province on Monday to quell fighting between Druze fighters and Bedouin armed men, but ended up clashing with the Druze militias. The fighting drew in Israel, which carried out airstrikes on government forces for the past three days on the pretext of protecting the Druze.