New Clashes Rock Syria's Druze Heartland As Tribal Fighters Reinforce Bedouin

Armed Bedouin gather in the village of Al-Mazraa outside Sweida as clashes flare with Druze fighters, a day after the Syrian army withdrew from the province, heartland of the Druze minority. (Credit: AFP)

Armed tribes supported by Syria's Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland on Friday, a day after the army withdrew under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure.

The United Nations called for an end to the "bloodshed" and demanded an "independent" investigation of the violence, which has claimed nearly 600 lives since Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.