The Syrian government deployed its forces in the Druze-majority city of Sweida, in a bid by the Islamist authorities to extend their power to the area controlled by local armed groups.

Dozens of wounded and dead arrived at a hospital in Al-Mazraa in Syria's southern Sweida province on Tuesday following clashes between local militias, clans and government forces.

Syrian troops entered the predominantly Druze city on Tuesday following two days of clashes, the first time government forces have deployed to Sweida since the new government took power.

Peace in Syria's Sweida province has been shattered by deadly fighting that started between local Druze and Bedouin groups but has now pulled in the Syrian army and even led to Israeli airstrikes. The violence reportedly began after a young Druze man was attacked,

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei expressed concern over clashes in Syria and strongly criticized the U.N. Security Council's inaction in the face of the Israeli regime's aggression on Syria,

Syrian forces had deployed in the southern city of Sweida, despite Israeli warnings, trying to contain clashes between members of the Druze minority and Bedouin.

The violence underscores the government’s challenge to assert nationwide control as ethnic and religious tensions simmer after the end of the civil war.