The world couldn't believe it last December when Syria's Assad regime, after decades of iron-fisted rule, suddenly fell like a house of cards. The speed of that collapse exposed how the state had been hollowed out on the quiet. Eight months on, how weak does Syria remain?

The government forces of Ahmed al-Sharaa are pulling out from the Druze-majority city of Sweida after bombardment from neighbouring Israel and pressure from a United States that's only recently offered Damascus a lifeline through the lifting of years-old crippling sanctions. 

What just happened in Sweida, with reports of summary executions of civilians? How will other minorities like the Kurds and the Alawites view the bloodbath? And why the climbdown by Damascus?

Looming large is Israel, with its own Druze community and its own agenda for perennial foes Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. Is war the only way for a nation that's occupied the Golan Heights since 1967 and which for now enjoys clear military supremacy over its neighbours?

Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.