Government urges all parties to commit to truce and says any breaches will be violation of sovereignty

• Escalating unrest lays bare new regime’s momentous challenges

Bedouin fighters and their allies have continued to clash with Druze fighters in the Syrian province of Sweida, despite an order by the government to put down their arms in a conflict that has killed more than 900 people since Sunday.

The Syrian presidency had earlier declared an “immediate and comprehensive” ceasefire and deployed its internal security forces in the southern province after almost a week of fighting in the predominantly Druze area.

Division between minority populations drag Syria further into cycle of violence and attracts Israeli opportunism

Seven months on from Bashar al-Assad’s fall, Syria is descending into yet another wave of bloody sectarian violence.

A local dispute between a Bedouin tribesman and a member of the Druze minority sparked clashes that drew in Syrian government forces and triggered Israeli airstrikes – leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.