Druse militiamen have been fighting with Bedouins in the Sweida Province, and Syrian government forces and the Israeli military are getting involved.

Washington and Jerusalem have kept a watchful eye on Damascus ever since the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime by Sunni Muslim rebels in December. Of greatest concern has been the level of solidarity the new Syrian government maintains with ISIS — the terrorist organization that Syrian interim president

The ceasefire followed deadly clashes between the Druze of Suwayda and Bedouin tribes that left over 100 people dead.

The Syrian Catholic archbishop of Homs in Syria, Jacques Mourad, has issued an urgent appeal for the future of the Christian presence in that country.

Syria’s defense minister has announced a ceasefire after government forces entered a key city in Sweida province on Tuesday.

This matters because if ISIS is on the rise in parts of Syria, then it will require coordination between Damascus and the SDF. The SDF controls a third of Syria.

The development of Syria’s energy sector is crucial for the Syrian government as it is witnessing a major transformation in light of international diplomatic and economic openness that has resulted in various agreements, with the aim of modernizing the infrastructure and achieving energy security.

A leading Druze spiritual leader accused the Syrian leadership in Damascus of bombarding the southern city of Sweida despite having reached an agreement to quell violence, and he called on fighters to confront Syrian troops entering the city.