Violence in Syria's Druze province has triggered Israeli military action, complicating relations with Turkey and creating a power vacuum that Iran could exploit.

One elderly man had been shot in the head in his living room. Another in his bedroom. The body of a woman lay in the street. After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida, survivors emerged on Thursday to collect and bury the scores of dead found across the city.

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 loo

One woman tells the BBC she cowered in her home waiting for gunmen to enter and "decide whether we should live or die".

Syrian government forces have started withdrawing from the southern province of Sweida following days of vicious clashes with militias from the Druze minority.

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 loo

The Syrian government has begun withdrawing its forces from the majority-Druze city of Suwayda, according to the country's state-run SANA news agency. A ceasefire with Druze militia has also been announced but it is "unclear" whether it will hold, said CNN.