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.

Sectarian clashes escalated in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida on Saturday, with machinegun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after

Government forces that were initially sent to restore order but effectively sided with the Bedouins against the Druze were redeployed to halt renewed fighting that erupted Thursday in the southern province of Sweida. The violence also drew airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel before a truce was reached.

One day after reaching a ceasefire with Israel, Syrian military forces began moving into the country's Suwayda Governorate, where dozens of people have been killed in recent days amid fighting between warring tribes.

Bloodshed in Sweida left at least 321 people dead, the Syrian Network for Human Rights said on Friday, in a new toll.

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.

Around 940 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in week-long violence in Syria's Druze-majority province of Sweida, a war monitor reported on Saturday, amid renewed sectarian fighting despite a ceasefire announcement.

Video showed government forces on the streets of a predominantly Druze city and smoke billowing across roads as gunfire sounded.