Government forces and allied militias began withdrawing from the mostly Druze city of Sweida in southern Syria on Thursday. It comes after Israeli strikes to defend the sect and US demands on Damascus to pull out.

Tensions between Israel and Syria have reached a boiling point. The Syrian Army has reportedly withdrawn from the key Druze city of Sweida following relentless Israeli airstrikes. Damascus lies in ruins as Israeli forces target key Syrian military installations,

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.

Convoys of Syrian security forces and tank transporters carrying tanks were seen moving outside of Sweida on July 16. Scores of people have been killed this week in violence in and around the predominantly Druze city of Sweida.

Israel increased its military presence along the Syrian border on Wednesday after violent clashes between Druze and Bedouin groups in southern Syria. The unrest, centered in the Sweida region, led the Syrian government to send in troops.

Israeli officials react to the ongoing violence in Syria's Sweida between regime forces and the local Druze community. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border amid ongoing clashes in Sweida in southern Syria on Wednesday afternoon.

Syrian troops are trying to intervene in sectarian violence in the south between the Druze minority and Bedouins.

Turkey has conveyed its views regarding Israel's air strikes on Syria to Israeli authorities via its intelligence agency, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday, adding Ankara was also in close contact with regional powers and the U.