Hundreds of Druze from Israel pushed across the border in solidarity with their Syrian cousins they feared were under attack. Many then met relatives never seen before.

BEIRUT (Reuters) -One elderly man had been shot in the head in his living room. Another in his bedroom. The body of a woman lay in the street. After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida,

Syrian government forces have started withdrawing from the southern province of Sweida following days of vicious clashes with militias from the Druze minority.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria’s Druze on Thursday called for the opening of a route to connect them with the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava), as recent attacks by Damascus-affiliated forces on the religious minority in Suwayda have triggered a dire humanitarian

The Syrian government has begun withdrawing its forces from the majority-Druze city of Suwayda, according to the country's state-run SANA news agency. A ceasefire with Druze militia has also been announced but it is "unclear" whether it will hold, said CNN.

An AFP photographer counted 15 bodies on the street in the centre of Sweida today after government forces pulled out. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said more than 370 people have been killed in sectarian clashes in the city since Sunday.

Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces.

Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus, blowing up part of the defence ministry as it vowed to destroy government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria.