DAMASCUS/CAIRO - Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Thursday that protecting Druze citizens and their rights is \"our priority\", as Israel vowed to destroy Syrian government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria.

Druze leaders in Lebanon are voicing their growing concerns over the deadly violence unfolding in Suwayda while members of the community are trying to cross the border into Syria.

A war monitor said that more than 350 people have been killed since the weekend in violent clashes in Syria's southern Sweida province, updating an earlier toll.

By Timour Azhari BEIRUT (Reuters) -Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, U.N.-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

"This was an intimate gathering aimed at discussing regional developments and exploring how the EU could help promote cooperation,” Regev explained.

Druse militiamen have been fighting with Bedouins in the Sweida Province, and Syrian government forces and the Israeli military are getting involved.

Washington and Jerusalem have kept a watchful eye on Damascus ever since the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime by Sunni Muslim rebels in December. Of greatest concern has been the level of solidarity the new Syrian government maintains with ISIS — the terrorist organization that Syrian interim president

Syria’s military entered a stronghold for the Druze minority in the country’s south on Tuesday to “pursue outlaw groups,” the government said, prompting Israel to launch strikes against the forces dispatched by Damascus.