At least 30 people have been killed in armed clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias in southern Syria, the country's interior ministry says,
BBC reports.
The violence erupted in the predominantly Druze city in the province of Suweida on Sunday, two days after a Druze merchant was reportedly abducted on the highway to Damascus.
The interior ministry called the situation "a dangerous escalation" and said security forces were being deployed to try to restore calm.
It is the latest outbreak of deadly sectarian violence in the country since Islamist-led rebel forces overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Syria's many minority communities - including the Druze, whose religion is an offshoot of Shia Islam with its own unique identity and beliefs - have expressed concerns over the new authorities' pledges to protect them.
