HTS-led forces entered the majority Druze city of Sweida on Tuesday, the interior ministry said, aiming to end clashes with the Damascus regime’s forces that have killed nearly 100 people.

The southern city had been under the control of armed factions from the Druze minority, whose religious leaders said they had approved the deployment of Damascus’s troops and called on fighters to hand over their weapons, AFP reported.

A curfew was to be imposed on the southern city in a bid to halt the violence, which erupted at the weekend and has since spread across Sweida governorate.

HTS-led regime’s forces said they intervened to separate the two sides but ended up taking control of several Druze areas around Sweida, an AFP correspondent reported.

Military columns were seen advancing toward Sweida on Tuesday morning, with heavy artillery deployed nearby.

The defence ministry said later that they had entered the city, and urged people to “stay home and report any movements of outlaw groups”.

An AFP correspondent heard explosions and gunshots as soldiers moved into Sweida.

Troops had begun heading towards the city on Monday, taking control of at least one Druze village, with one Druze faction saying talks were underway with the Damascus regime.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported 99 people killed since the fighting erupted on Sunday — 60 Druze, including four civilians, 18 Bedouin fighters allied with the regime’s forces, 14 security personnel and seven unidentified people in military uniforms.

The defence ministry reported 18 deaths among the ranks of the armed forces.