Who the Syrian rebels are depends on whom you ask. Experts on the civil war — not just politicians like Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian President Vladimir Putin — disagree vehemently ...

Syrian Interior Ministry officials said Tuesday that the country’s Internal Security Forces, in coordination with the Ministry of Defense,

Syria said that its army had begun to withdraw from violence-hit Sweida following a wave of Israeli strikes on the capital and a US call for forces to leave.

In Syria, violence continued between rival factions even after a ceasefire deal. Government troops withdrew overnight from a region as Israel said it would not allow Syrian forces south of Damascus, extending its attempted control of the area.

Thousands of Druze civilians crossed from Israel into Syrian territory in an attempt to assist their brethren who are under attack by Syrian regime forces.

Israel launched rare strikes in Damascus on Wednesday in a campaign it said was aimed at defending the Druze community after days of clashes in the southern city of Sweida.

In March, government forces were involved in a killing spree on the Syrian coast that left dead about 1,600 people, mostly from the Alawite minority, according to the Observatory. Another outbreak of violence just outside Damascus in May killed more than 100 people, mostly from the Druse minority.