Sky News' special correspondent Alex Crawford is in southern Syria, where the government says escalating violence has been halted and a fragile ceasefire between rival factions is in place. Follow below for the latest updates.

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR) documented a significant outbreak of brutality in the killings that gripped Suweida province.

Syria begins withdrawing army from Suwayda, but Israel vows to continue to ‘operate vigorously’ in Druze-majority city.

Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity go hand in hand with the fundamental right of all Syrians…to live in peace without fear,' says George Gerapetritis at UN Security Council - Anadolu Ajansı

Church in the southern Syrian province of Sweida, smashed Christian symbols, and set fire to its ceiling and walls.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said the clashes started after members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida province set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the tribes and Druze armed groups.

The latest escalation began with a Bedouin tribe in Sweida setting up a checkpoint and attacking and robbing a Druze man, which triggered tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.

Israel says it is intervening to protect Syria’s Druze residents who have strong ties to Israel’s Druze community. Damascus called the attack a violation of sovereignty.

Syrian troops on Thursday pulled out of the Druze heartland of Sweida on the orders of the Islamist-led government, following days of deadly clashes that killed nearly 600 people, according