Syria's defence minister announced a ceasefire shortly after government forces entered a key city in Sweida province on Tuesday.

Sectarian violence erupted again in southern Syria as local Sunni Bedouin tribes fought armed factions for the Druze religious community. The Syrian government dispatched troops to restore order, and Israel launched airstrikes to protect the Druze.

STORY: Convoys of Syrian army tanks and trucks entered the Sweida city on Tuesday (July 15).That was following deadly clashes between Druze armed groups and Bedoin fighters earlier in the week.:: Israeli armyIsrael launched airstrikes on these government

The city of Sweida in southern Syria has been featured in headlines worldwide as clashes have erupted between Druze and Bedouin forces in the area. Syrian forces have also advanced on the city, and the IDF has launched airstrikes on nearby military targets.

Dozens of wounded and dead arrived at a hospital in Al-Mazraa in Syria's southern Sweida province on Tuesday following clashes between local militias, clans and government forces.

Despite Syrian authorities announcing a ceasefire in the Druze minority's heartland of Sweida after three days of urban warfare, dozens were killed in fighting on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Israel has renewed air strikes on the region after deadly clashes between Druze groups and pro-government forces,

Israel carried out strikes against Syrian government forces in southern Syria, saying it was acting to protect the Druze minority.

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

Syrian authorities were accused on Tuesday of carrying out "field executions" of civilians in the predominantly Druze province of Sweida, where Israel launched strikes against government forces in what it described as an effort to protect the religious minority.

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 mainly Druze residents of the Syrian city of Sweida had hoped the arrival of government forces on Tuesday would spell an end to deadly sectarian clashes with local Bedouin tribes.