Historically, the Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethno-religious minority who are spread across Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. The Druze faith is an esoteric offshoot of Shia Islam with a distinct set of beliefs and practices.

Members of Syria's Druze community are searching for loved ones and counting their dead after days of clashes in a southern province that left bloodied bodies of civilians on the streets and homes looted.

As a fragile ceasefire holds in southern Syria following deadly clashes, a Syrian Druze writer in exile Sarah Hunaidi tells CNN it’s a “horrible situation” on the ground, as food supplies run low and hospitals remain out of service.

Violence in Syria's Druze province has triggered Israeli military action, complicating relations with Turkey and creating a power vacuum that Iran could exploit.

Israel is the primary beneficiary of what’s happening in Suwayda. It is using the security vacuum to incite divisions and push some communities toward seeking protection,’ Sheikh Sami Abil-Mona tells

More than 100 demonstrators from Canada's Druze community gathered on Parliament Hill on Friday afternoon, asking for the government to intervene in an unfolding humanitarian crisis in Syria where hundreds have already been killed.

One woman tells the BBC she cowered in her home waiting for gunmen to enter and "decide whether we should live or die".