Druze fighters had pushed out rival armed factions from the city on Saturday, a monitor said, after the government ordered a ceasefire following a US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military intervention.

Sectarian-tinged clashes left hundreds dead and drew in Israeli military intervention. A U.S. envoy said Israel and Syria had agreed to a truce.

Syrian security forces are beginning to move into the restive province of Suwayda after days of communal fighting in which hundreds of people have been killed,the country’s interior ministry says.

Syria denies forces will re-enter conflict-stricken city despite Israeli warnings - The move further strains a fragile truce

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority on Thursday after U.S. intervention to help achieve a truce in fighting between government forces and Druze fighters.

A Bedouin military commander told the Reuters news agency that the truce only applied to government forces and not to them, adding that the fighters were seeking to free Bedouins