Syria said Israel launched new strikes near Damascus on Wednesday, after sectarian clashes left nearly 40 dead in two days and Israel warned against attacks targeting the Druze minority.
The sectarian violence and Israel's intervention present huge challenges to the Islamist authorities who overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, and follow massacres last month in Syria's Alawite coastal heartland.
United Nations special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen condemned the violence as "unacceptable" and expressed alarm at "the potential for further escalation of an extremely fragile situation". State news agency SANA reported "Israeli occupation strikes on the vicinity" of Sahnaya, southwest of the capital.
Deadly sectarian clashes erupted overnight in Sahnaya, home to Druze and Christian residents.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said six local Druze fighters were killed in the clashes while the interior ministry reported 16 General Security forces dead after "outlaw groups" attacked government positions and checkpoints. AFP
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