Violence between government forces and armed factions of a religious minority in southern Syria this week has deepened divisions in a country still recuperating from a civil war.

In his statement, Turk condemned the mass displacement and acts of violence in Sweida, including reports of killings, kidnappings, destruction of private property, and looting of homes. The head of the United Nations human rights office urged on Friday for Syria's interim authorities to ensure accountability and justice for killings and violations in the southern city of Sweida.

Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire, the US envoy to Turkey said on Friday, after days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has killed over 300 people.

U.S. Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack says that Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire, following Israel’s intervention this week in fighting between Syrian government forces and Bedouin tribes and armed groups from the Druze minority.

Syria's government misread how Israel would respond to its troops deploying to the country's south this week, encouraged by U.S. messaging that Syria should be governed as a centralized state, eight sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces.

The attack follows a wave of Israeli strikes on Syrian government forces during two days of sectarian clashes between local Druze and Bedouin populations.

Syrian troops are trying to intervene in sectarian violence in the south between the Druze minority and Bedouins. Israel said its strikes were to protect the Druze.