Fresh clashes broke out overnight between the Druze minority armed groups and members of Bedouin clans in southern Syria, prompting government forces to deploy again to the area on Friday after pulling out under a ceasefire agreement that halted several days of violence earlier this week, officials said.

Government security forces agreed with some of the Druze factions that they would re-enter the area to impose stability and protect state institutions, according to two Syrian officials who spoke to AP on Friday on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida – that primarily houses Druze population – after days of clashes with militias linked to the religious minority that threatened to unravel the country's fragile post-war transition.