People mourn next to the body of a person killed during overnight sectarian clashes in Druze, Syria, on Tuesday.
At least 10 people were killed on Tuesday after clashes broke out in a suburb of the Syrian capital between local gunmen belonging to the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters, a war monitor and an activist group said.
Syrian Druze gunmen have clashed in recent weeks with government security forces and pro-government gunmen in the southern Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
Late on Tuesday, government representatives and Jaramana dignitaries reached an agreement to end the fighting, compensate victims' families and work on bringing perpetrators to justice, according to a copy of the deal circulated in Jaramana and seen by the media reporter.
A woman and children walk past fighters loyal to Syria's new the Islamist government, in Jaramana, Syria.
It was not immediately clear if the truce will hold for a long time as similar deals in the past collapsed afterward.
The latest round of fighting broke out around midnight Monday after an audio clip circulated on social media of a man criticizing Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The audio was attributed to a Druze cleric. But cleric Marwan Kiwan said in a video posted on social media that he was not responsible for the audio, which angered many Sunni Muslims.
"I categorically deny that the audio was made by me,” Kiwan said. "I did not say that, and whoever made it is an evil man who wants to incite strife between components of the Syrian people.”
Syria's new Islamist government security forces stand guard on the road leading to the airport, in the Damascus' suburb of Jaramana on Tuesday, following overnight sectarian clashes between Druze and Syria's new government fighters. Photos: AFP
The Interior Ministry said in a statement it was investigating the audio clip, adding that its initial probe showed the cleric was not responsible. The ministry urged people to abide by the law and not to act in a way that undermines security.
The Druze religious leadership in Jaramana condemned the audio but blasted the "unjustified armed attack” on the suburb. It urged the state to publicly clarify what happened.