It began with a blasphemous audio recording and ended with over 80 deaths and Israel bombing Syria again. The causes of violence in Druze-majority areas in Syria this week are complex.

The new government has pledged to unify Syria after overthrowing the Assad dictatorship. One of its biggest challenges is persistent sectarian violence.

A leader of Syria’s Druze minority has condemned attacks against his community after dozens of people were killed in two days of sectarian clashes south of Damascus. Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri on Thursday denounced the violence in Jaramana and Sahnaya near Damascus earlier this week as a “genocidal campaign” against the Druze community in Syria.