Heavy clashes between local Druze fighters and Bedouin clans that erupted over the weekend in Syria’s southern Suwayda province continued into Monday, leaving almost 100 people dead and raising fears of escalating violence in the Druze-majority region.

What happened: The violence erupted after a Druze merchant was robbed and kidnapped at a Bedouin checkpoint on the highway linking Damascus to Suwayda on Friday, triggering a series of kidnappings between the two groups.

The tensions escalated into armed clashes between groups from the Druze minority and Sunni Bedouin clans in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Suwayda city on Sunday, according to the Syrian Interior Ministry, before spreading to other parts of the province