'More than 400' killed in Syria's Suweida as clashes continue

Updated death tolls on Friday from clashes in the southern Syrian city of Suweida have put the number of dead as high as 400.

Fighting between supporters of Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, government forces and Bedouin tribes has raged since Sunday, alongside airstrikes carried out by Israel, which claimed that they were in support of the Druze.

Omar Obeid, a doctor at the  government hospital in the predominantly Druze city of Suweida, told AFP that the medical  facility had received "more than 400 bodies since Monday morning", including those of women and children.

"There is no more room in the morgue, the bodies are in the street" in front of the hospital, added Obeid, president of the Suweida branch of the Order of Physicians. 

Meanwhile, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said it had documented the killing of at least 321 Syrians, including 6 children and 9 women, and the wounding of more than 436 others.

The initial toll includes civilian casualties — including children, women and medical personnel — as well as fighters from armed Bedouin tribal groups and local residents outside the control of the state, and members of the Syrian government's military and security forces, it said.

The SNHR highlighted that the death toll is preliminary, with efforts still underway to identify victims and those responsible for their killing.

Other estimates have put the death toll as high as 600.

The unrest in Suweida has underscored the security challenges facing Syria's fledgling government, with intercommunal tensions and strikes by Israel threatening the country's stability.

Syrian Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed Al-Saleh announced on Friday that he had formed a joint operations room to deal with the humanitarian situation resulting from the clashes.

In a video statement early on Thursday, Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said that protecting the rights of Druze was among his priorities and blamed "outlaw groups" seeking to inflame tensions for any crimes against civilians.

He vowed to hold accountable those responsible for violations against the Druze, but did not say whether government forces were responsible.