More than a dozen killed in sectarian clashes near Syrian capital

Damascus: More than a dozen people were killed in a predominantly Druze town near the Syrian capital on Tuesday in clashes sparked by a purported recording of a Druze man cursing the Prophet Mohammad which angered Sunni gunmen, rescuers and security sources said.

The fighting marked the latest episode of deadly sectarian violence in Syria, where fears among minorities have been swelling since Islamist-led rebels ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad from power in December, installing their own government and security forces.

Those fears spiked after the killings of hundreds of Alawites in March in apparent revenge for an attack by Assad loyalists.

The clashes began overnight when gunmen from the nearby town of Maliha and other predominantly Sunni areas converged on the mostly Druze town of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, security sources said.

The fighting, with small and medium arms fire, left 13 people dead, according to local rescue workers.

Among the dead were two members of Syria's General Security Service, a new security force comprised mostly of former rebels, according to interior ministry spokesperson Mustafa al-Abdo.

Abdo denied that armed gunmen had attacked the town, saying instead that groups of civilians angered by the voice recording had staged a protest that came under fire from Druze groups.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement it was investigating the origin of the voice recording and called for calm, urging citizens not to let emotions lead to violence or damage to public property.

Druze elders met with security forces in a bid to prevent further escalation, a Syrian security source said. "What was said by a few individuals against our Prophet represents only them and is rejected by us and all of society," Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou said, calling on both communities to reject efforts to fuel sectarian divisions.

Syria's nearly 14-year war carved the country into various zones of influence, with the Druze - an Arab minority who practise a religion originally derived from Islam - arming themselves to defend their own towns.

The new Islamist-led leadership in Damascus has called for all arms to fall under their authority, but Druze fighters have resisted, saying Damascus has failed to guarantee their protection from hostile militants.

Community leaders blamed the government for failing to prevent Tuesday's attack and warned that it would bear responsibility for any future repercussions.

"The authorities are responsible for preserving security," Rabei Munzir, a local Druze activist in Jaramana, told Reuters.

Neighbouring Israel has said that it was willing to intervene in Syria to protect the Druze, thousands of whom also live in Israel and in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day war.