A Syria war monitor on Tuesday said 14 people including seven Druze fighters were killed in sectarian clashes near Damascus, as authorities blamed "gunmen" and vowed to pursue those involved.
The overnight clashes, sparked by the circulation on social media of an audio recording deemed blasphemous, were met with condemnation from leaders of the Druze religious minority.
The violence follows sectarian massacres last month in the Alawite coastal heartland – the worst bloodshed since Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime president Bashar al-Assad in December.
While seeking to present a more moderate image to the world, the new authorities must also contend with pressures from radical Islamists within their ranks.
Read moreClashes between Syrian forces and Druze gunmen turn deadly
"Heavy clashes erupted in Jaramana after security forces and affiliated gunmen stormed" areas of the mostly Druze and Christian suburb of Jaramana, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
The violence was spurred by "the circulation of an audio recording, attributed to a Druze citizen, containing religious insults", it added.
AFP was unable to confirm the recording's authenticity.
The Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, raised the toll to 14 dead "including seven local Druze gunmen ... and seven security force members and affiliated personnel".
The interior ministry reported "intermittent clashes between groups of gunmen", saying security forces deployed "to break up the clashes and protect the residents".
"We affirm our keenness to pursue those involved and hold them to account," it said in a statement, adding that investigations were also ongoing to identify who was behind the recording "insulting our Prophet Mohammed".
"We will not be lenient in bringing to justice anyone who contributes to sowing chaos and undermining security," the ministry statement added.
'Full responsibility'
An AFP correspondent saw gunmen shooting into the air during the funeral for two security force members killed in the clashes.
Jaramana's Druze religious leadership in a statement condemned "the unjustified armed attack" that "targeted innocent civilians and terrorised" residents.
"We strongly condemn any insult against" the Prophet Mohammed, the statement said, calling the audio recording an attempt to "sow strife and division".
It said Syria's authorities bore "full responsibility for the incident" and any "worsening of the crisis".
Prominent Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri condemned what he said were "terrorist attacks" and accused Syria's new rulers of wanting to marginalise the Druze as the previous government did.
Local residents said the fighting had subsided by morning.
"We were trapped in our homes as the sound of intermittent gunfire continued," a resident of Jaramana who requested anonymity due to safety concerns told AFP.
"The children have not gone to school and the streets of our neighbourhood are empty this morning," they added.
Riham Waqqaf, a 33-year-old humanitarian worker, said she was staying home with her husband and children.
She expressed worry that Jaramana "might turn into a battlefield ... I am afraid of the situation escalating further".
Fighter Jamal, declining to provide his full name, said local armed groups had asked residents of the suburb to stay home "for their safety".
The area is also home to families displaced by Syria's conflict which erupted in 2011.
Coastal violence
Security forces deployed in Jaramana last month following clashes between security forces and local gunmen tasked with protecting the area.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz at that time warned the new Islamist-led authorities not "to harm the Druze" minority, which is also spread across Lebanon and Israel.
Read moreIsrael says troops to remain indefinitely in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria
Druze leaders rejected the Israeli warning and declared their loyalty to a united Syria.
The clashes in Jaramana mark the latest test for the Islamist authorities, who have roots in the al Qaeda jihadist group but have vowed inclusive rule in the multi-confessional, multi-ethnic country.
The authorities have been seeking to persuade Western capitals that the jihadist origins of the forces who toppled Assad are confined to the past, and that crippling international sanctions should be lifted.
Druze representatives have been negotiating with authorities on an agreement to integrate their armed groups into the new national army.
Last month's coastal violence saw security forces and allied groups kill more than 1,700 civilians, mostly Alawites, the Observatory had said.
The government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led the offensive that toppled Assad, accused loyalists to the former leader of sparking the violence by attacking security forces, and has launched an inquiry.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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