Syria’s military entered a stronghold for the Druze minority in the country’s south on Tuesday to “pursue outlaw groups,” the government said, prompting Israel to launch strikes against the forces dispatched by Damascus.

This matters because if ISIS is on the rise in parts of Syria, then it will require coordination between Damascus and the SDF. The SDF controls a third of Syria.

Druse militiamen have been fighting with Bedouins in the Sweida Province, and Syrian government forces and the Israeli military are getting involved.

The Syrian Catholic archbishop of Homs in Syria, Jacques Mourad, has issued an urgent appeal for the future of the Christian presence in that country.

European officials on Tuesday stressed that Syria’s future must be shaped through an inclusive, Syrian-led political process that safeguards minority rights and reflects the country’s diverse social fabric.

Inter-ethnic violence in Syria’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida has been met with government intervention, Israeli airstrikes – and on Tuesday, a reported ceasefire announcement by Syria’s defence minister.

A leading Druze spiritual leader accused the Syrian leadership in Damascus of bombarding the southern city of Sweida despite having reached an agreement to quell violence, and he called on fighters to confront Syrian troops entering the city.