The Druze, a religious sect with roots in Ismailism and a storied history in Syria, maintain secrecy and discourage intermarriage. With a strong sense of community support, they have long navigated political turbulence,

Syria has been wracked by a new wave of deadly sectarian violence that has placed the spotlight on the Druze minority at the center of rising tensions with Israel. Dozens of people were killed this week after clashes between government loyalists and Druze militias in the southern city of Suwayda,

At the center of a crisis in Syria are the Druze — a secretive religious minority that long carved out a precarious identity across Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

The new leadership vowed to disband all militias. But the fiercely independent Druze have made no agreement, and say they're gathering fighters and making plans to repel government forces if needed.

The Druze religious sect, enmeshed in an outbreak of tit-for-tat violence in Syria, began roughly 1,000 years ago as an offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel,

A ceasefire went into effect late Wednesday, easing days of brutal clashes in Sweida. Now, members of its Druze community who fled or went into hiding are returning to search for loved ones and count their losses. They are finding homes looted and bloodied bodies of civilians in the streets.

The Wednesday airstrikes of Israel in Syria have put the Druze community at the epicentre of the conflict with both contries vowing to protect this minority community.