New Delhi, July 16 -- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed deep concern on Wednesday (July 16) over escalating violence in southern Syria, following a second consecutive day of Israeli airstrikes targeting Syrian government forces near the Israeli frontier.

"We're very concerned about it," Rubio told reporters in Washington. "We want it to stop. We're talking to both sides, all relevant sides, on this, and hopefully can bring it to a conclusion."

Tom Barrack, the US special envoy for Syria, said the United States was actively engaging with "all sides to navigate towards calm and integration."

The renewed conflict centers around the southwestern Syrian province of Sweida, a predominantly Druze region, where armed clashes erupted ...