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The new Sunni Islamist-led government had called for support from various military units and militia groups to respond to those raids – but that escalated into a wave of sectarian anger aimed at Alawite civilians.

However, it rejected "foreign intervention" when Israel carried out strikes south of Damascus on Wednesday during clashes between Druze gunmen, security forces and allied Sunni Islamist fighters.

But by then, Sunni gunmen were already converging on the Jaramana neighborhood.

The violence erupted after an audio clip of a man insulting the Prophet Muhammad circulated on social media and angered Sunni Muslims.

Government forces and thousands of fighters — including from Sunni jihadist factions — beat back the loyalists but also hunted down Alawites, who share Assad’s religion and were seen by many Syrians as complicit in his policies.