This matters because if ISIS is on the rise in parts of Syria, then it will require coordination between Damascus and the SDF. The SDF controls a third of Syria.

Druse militiamen have been fighting with Bedouins in the Sweida Province, and Syrian government forces and the Israeli military are getting involved.

Israel launched several air attacks in Syria and Lebanon in the past day, increasing tensions with its neighbors.

The Syrian Catholic archbishop of Homs in Syria, Jacques Mourad, has issued an urgent appeal for the future of the Christian presence in that country.

Israel carried out strikes against Syrian government forces in southwestern Syria for a second day on Tuesday, vowing to keep the area demilitarized and to protect the Druze minority as deadly clashes continued in the region at the Israeli frontier.

Syrian authorities were accused on Tuesday of carrying out "field executions" of civilians in the predominantly Druze province of Sweida, where Israel launched strikes against government forces in what it described as an effort to protect the religious minority.

European officials on Tuesday stressed that Syria’s future must be shaped through an inclusive, Syrian-led political process that safeguards minority rights and reflects the country’s diverse social fabric.

Inter-ethnic violence in Syria’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida has been met with government intervention, Israeli airstrikes – and on Tuesday, a reported ceasefire announcement by Syria’s defence minister.