Syrian government forces largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida on Thursday after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that threatened to unravel the country's postwar transition.

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.

Under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure, Ahmed al-Sharaa pulled troops from Syria's Druze heartland -- a move that exposes the interim leader's weakness just as he sought to assert control.Since seizing office in December after ousting longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad,

The head of the United Nations human rights office called on Friday for Syria's interim authorities to ensure accountability and justice for killings and rights violations in the southern city of Sweida.

At least 135 people have been killed at the Druze-majority city of As-Sweida since Sunday and many others humiliated by the assailants. The

Syria has finalised an $800m agreement with Dubai-based DP World to redevelop its Tartous port in a bid to speed up post-war reconstruction. State news agency SANA said the deal was signed in Damascus on Sunday between DP World and the General Authority for Land and Sea Ports, in the presence of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

A senior official of the ruling Kurdish party in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Sunday strongly criticized a proposal by the interim government in Damascus to 'integrate' institutions within the Kurdish-majority region,