Armed clashes escalated on Friday near the western entrance of the southern Syrian city of Suwayda, between Bedouin tribal forces and Druze groups loyal to local leader Hikmat al-Hijri.

Despite the withdrawal of government forces from the area on Wednesday evening—following an agreement with local factions—hostilities reignited after al-Hijri’s Druze fighters forcibly displaced Bedouin tribes from several villages, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent.

On Thursday night, Bedouin tribes, reinforced by hundreds of fighters from Arab tribes across Syria, managed to retake control of some villages previously held by Druze forces and advanced to the outskirts of Suwayda city from the west.