Syria's new government sent troops to quell fighting between the Druze religious minority and Sunni Muslim tribes. Then Israel intervened, bombing Damascus.

Israel launched rare strikes in Damascus on Wednesday in a campaign it said was aimed at defending the Druze community after days of clashes in the southern city of Sweida.

Sectarian clashes continue to bedevil Syria, more than six months on from the toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime at the hands of Sunni Islamists in December.