Goa, July 18 -- Syrian government officials and Druze religious leaders on Wednesday announced a renewed ceasefire aimed at halting days of violent clashes in Sweida province that have threatened the country's fragile postwar political transition. The truce follows a failed earlier attempt on Tuesday and comes amid escalating Israeli military intervention and deepening sectarian strife.

The ceasefire, jointly declared by Syria's Interior Ministry and a Druze religious leader via video message, prompted the partial withdrawal of government convoys from the southern city of Sweida. However, doubts remain over the truce's durability, as prominent Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri publicly disavowed the agreement. Compounding skepticism, I...