The fighting, which started with clashes between Druze and Bedouin militias in the city of Sweida and drew in Sunni tribesmen and Israel, is among the deadliest since the fall of former dictator Bashar al-Assad in December.

Syria's Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence triggered by clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions. Earlier on Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days.

The Syrian government says it has halted sectarian clashes in Sweida despite signs it's struggling to enforce the ceasefire. Also: more than 30 die in Vietnam when a tourist boat capsizes, and the young poets of Gaza.