By Laila Bassam DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Sectarian clashes escalated in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida on Saturday, with machinegun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after days of bloodshed as the Islamist-led government struggled to implement a ceasefire.

Clashes that shook southern Syria this week have killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drawn in an array of both local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.

Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has urged Sunni Bedouin tribes to honor a ceasefire aimed at ending deadly clashes with Druze-linked militias

Ceasefire supported by Turkey, Jordan and neighbors Syria's Sweida province rocked by days of violence Over 300 killed in fighting, human rights group says Syrian forces to get limited access to Sweida province BEIRUT/JERUSALEM,

Druze fighters pushed out rival armed factions from Syria's southern city of Sweida on Saturday, a monitor said, after the government ordered a ceasefire following a US-brokered deal to avert