Syria’s Defense Ministry blamed militias in Sweida for violating a cease-fire agreement that had been reached Tuesday, causing Syrian army soldiers to return fire and continue military operations in the Druze-majority province.

Washington and Jerusalem have kept a watchful eye on Damascus ever since the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime by Sunni Muslim rebels in December. Of greatest concern has been the level of solidarity the new Syrian government maintains with ISIS — the terrorist organization that Syrian interim president

The ceasefire followed deadly clashes between the Druze of Suwayda and Bedouin tribes that left over 100 people dead.

As of Wednesday morning, clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters resumed just hours after a ceasefire was announced.

Sectarian violence erupted again in southern Syria as local Sunni Bedouin tribes fought armed factions for the Druze religious community. The Syrian government dispatched troops to restore order, and Israel launched airstrikes to protect the Druze.

The mainly Druze residents of the Syrian city of Sweida had hoped the arrival of government forces on Tuesday would spell an end to deadly sectarian clashes with local Bedouin tribes. On Tuesday, government forces entered Sweida with the stated aim of ending the sectarian violence that had claimed more than 100 lives earlier this week.

A leading Druze spiritual leader accused the Syrian leadership in Damascus of bombarding the southern city of Sweida despite having reached an agreement to quell violence, and he called on fighters to confront Syrian troops entering the city.

Syrian Kurds, who control a quarter of Syria's territory in the north and the northeast, are closely watching events unfold in Suwayda.