Clashes that shook southern Syria this week have killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drawn in an array of both local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.

Hundreds of Druze from Israel pushed across the border in solidarity with their Syrian cousins they feared were under attack. Many then met relatives never seen before.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria’s Druze on Thursday called for the opening of a route to connect them with the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava), as recent attacks by Damascus-affiliated forces on the religious minority in Suwayda have triggered a dire humanitarian

Israeli Druze breached the Israel-Syria border fence in the Golan Heights and walked towards Syria on July 16after local calls to help Druze in Syria after a surge in violence in the neighbouring country.

Syria says it is withdrawing troops from the southern city of Suwayda after days of deadly clashes with the minority Arab Druze community that triggered military action from Israel. CNN’s Becky Anderson speaks to a Syrian Druze and an Israeli Druze to discuss the differing views on the matter.

Syrian troops are trying to intervene in sectarian violence in the south between the Druze minority and Bedouins.

Deadly sectarian clashes in Syria eased Thursday, after a ceasefire was announced between groups fighting in the Druze-majority southern province and Israel signaled air strikes over recent days were suspended.