BEIRUT (AP) — A U.S. envoy doubled down on Washington’s support for Syria’s new government, saying Monday there is “no Plan B” to working with it to unite the country still reeling from years of civil war and wracked by new sectarian violence.

Sectarian-tinged clashes left hundreds dead and attracted Israeli military intervention. A U.S. envoy said Israel and Syria had agreed to a truce.

Syria's Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence triggered by clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions. Earlier on Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days.

Israel and Syria agreed to a ceasefire after Israel intervened in fighting between Syrian government forces and rebel groups.

In their article for The Media Line, Brittle Ceasefire: ‘This Isn’t Peace,’ As-Suwayda Teacher Says Ahmed Qweidar and Jacob Wirtschafter offer a powerful and nuanced portrait of Syria’s ongoing conflict. Their reporting presents a wide range of voices, challenging the simplistic narratives often found in international coverage.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack announced on Friday that Syria and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. Israel intervened in the conflict earlier this week, hitting government forces and the defence ministry building in Damascus as it declared support for the Druze minority.

The Syrian government says the week-long sectarian clashes in the southern region of Sweida have now been halted - after the tribal fighters were made to leave.

Syria's new government sent troops to quell fighting between the Druze religious minority and Sunni Muslim tribes. Then Israel intervened, bombing Damascus.