Ceasefire in Sweida after Druze fighters recapture city, government orders halt to sectarian violence with U.S.-brokered deal.

Syria's government misread how Israel would respond to its troops deploying to the country's south this week, according to sources.

Government forces that were initially sent to restore order but effectively sided with the Bedouins against the Druze were redeployed to halt renewed fighting that erupted Thursday in the southern province of Sweida. The violence also drew airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel before a truce was reached.

Dozens of Syrians from minority communities rallied on Saturday in London and Paris, calling for action to protect the Druze in their Sweida heartland, where sectarian violence has killed hundreds.In central London,

Around 940 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in week-long violence in Syria's Druze-majority province of Sweida, a war monitor reported on Saturday, amid renewed sectarian fighting despite a ceasefire announcement.

Syria's Islamist-led government said its security forces were deploying in the predominantly Druze southern city of Sweida on Saturday and urged all parties to respect a ceasefire after days of factional bloodshed that has left hundreds dead.

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.