Syria’s president declared a ceasefire after nearly a week of sectarian bloodshed in the south, but civilians said there was no let-up in the violence.

Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa urged Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes Saturday to “fully commit” to a ceasefire aimed at ending clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that left hundreds dead and threatened to unravel the country’s post-war transition.

Dozens of Syrians from minority communities rallied on Saturday in London and Paris, calling for action to protect the Druze in their Sweida heartland, where sectarian violence has killed hundreds.In central London,

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Syrian security forces are preparing to redeploy to the Druze-majority Sweida city to quell fighting with Bedouin tribes, a Syrian interior ministry spokesperson said on Friday, further straining a fragile truce in Syria's south.

The conflict drew airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze minority before most of the fighting was halted by a truce announced Wednesday.

Smoke rose from burning houses in south Syria's Sweida on Saturday and an Arab tribal fighter vowed to "slaughter" residents as deadly clashes with Druze fighters persisted.Just hours earlier, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had announced an immediate ceasefire,

The Syrian Islamist-led government announced a ceasefire in Sweida following deadly factional violence. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa praised international mediation while criticizing Israeli airstrikes.

Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the Druze-majority southern province of Sweida after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze religious minority that threatened to unravel the country’s fragile post-war transition.

BEIRUT (Reuters) -One elderly man had been shot in the head in his living room. Another in his bedroom. The body of a woman lay in the street. After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida,