Israel has struck military tanks in southern Syria as Syrian government forces and Bedouin tribes clash with Druze militias there.

Sunday’s fighting between Druze militiamen and Bedouin tribal fighters was the first time that sectarian violence erupted inside the city of Sweida itself, following months of tensions in the broader

The violence erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida, witnesses said. More than 30 people were killed and 100 injured in armed clashes in Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida,