Two days of sectarian violence in the Damascus area and in southern Syria have left at least 73 people dead, including one civilian, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor.
The Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, said the death toll in the Jaramana and Sahnaya suburbs of Damascus included 30 members of the security forces, 15 fighters from the Druze minority and one civilian.
In the southern Suweyda province, 27 Druze gunmen were killed, 23 of them in an "ambush" on the Suweyda-Damascus road on Wednesday, the monitor added.
According to rescue workers and security sources, the two-day violence was sparked by a voice recording attributed to a Druze man ostensibly cursing the Prophet Mohammed that was widely shared on social media – and which Druze leaders say was fabricated.
Syrian Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri on Thursday condemned what he called a "genocidal campaign" against his people.
In a statement, Hijri urged immediate intervention by "international forces to maintain peace and prevent the continuation of these crimes".
Read moreDeadly clashes in Damascus plunge Syria's Druze minority into uncertainty
A truce agreement was reached on Wednesday in Jaramana and Sahnaya following meetings between Druze representatives and government officials.
Syrian authorities announced the deployment of their forces in Sahnaya to ensure security, accusing "outlaw groups" of instigating the clashes.
However, Hijri said he no longer trusts "an entity pretending to be a government ... because the government does not kill its people through its extremist militias ... and then claim they were unruly elements after the massacres".
"The government (should) protect its people," he added.
The latest round of violence follows a series of massacres in Syria's coast in March, where the Observatory said security forces and allied groups killed more than 1,700 civilians, mostly Alawites.
It was the worst bloodshed since the December ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who is from the minority community.
In a statement on Wednesday, Syria's foreign ministry vowed to "protect all components" of society, including the Druze, and expressed its rejection of "foreign interference".
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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