Clashes erupted on July 13 in Syria’s Druze-majority province of Sweida between local fighters and Sunni Bedouin, spiralling and drawing in government forces, tribal allies of the Bedouin and the military of neighbouring Israel.

Syria’s armed Bedouin clans' withdrawal from the Druze-majority city of Sweida brought a cautious calm to the area, with humanitarian convoys on their way.

The Syrian government has started evacuating Bedouin families trapped inside the majority-Druze city of Sweida, where Druze militiamen and Bedouin fighters have clashed for over a week, killing hundreds and threatening to unravel the country’s fragile postwar transition.

DAMASCUS, July 20 (Reuters) - Residents reported calm in Syria's Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government announced that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and the United States stepped up calls for an end to days of fighting.

Syrian interior ministry forces began deploying in Sweida on Saturday under a US-brokered deal intended to avert further Israeli military intervention in the Druze-majority province.Israel had bombed defence ministry forces in both Sweida and Damascus earlier this week to force their withdrawal after they were accused of summary executions and other abuses against Druze civilians during their brief deployment in the southern province.

The first humanitarian aid convoy entered the southern Syrian city of Sweida today, a Red Crescent official says, a week after deadly sectarian violence erupted in the Druze heartland.

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 in which hundreds have been killed.