After violent clashes between Druze and Bedouin militias erupted in Syria’s southern Suwayda region last week – killing over 1,000 people and displacing almost 130,000 others – the religious group has been cast into the global spotlight.

Clashes that shook southern Syria this week have killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drawn in an array of both local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.

Druze fighters had pushed out rival armed factions from the city on Saturday, a monitor said, after the government ordered a ceasefire following a US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention.

Sectarian-tinged clashes left hundreds dead and drew in Israeli military intervention. A U.S. envoy said Israel and Syria had agreed to a truce.

Syria denies forces will re-enter conflict-stricken city despite Israeli warnings - The move further strains a fragile truce

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority on Thursday after U.S. intervention to help achieve a truce in fighting between government forces and Druze fighters.

A Bedouin military commander told the Reuters news agency that the truce only applied to government forces and not to them, adding that the fighters were seeking to free Bedouins

The violence in the Druze-majority city was some of the most brutal in Syria since Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December.