New Delhi, July 8 -- Clashes between Bedouin tribes, government forces and members of a minority sect in Syria have left dozens dead and once again raised fears of a breakdown in the country's fragile postwar order.

The country is deeply divided as it tries to emerge from decades of dictatorship and nearly 14 years of civil war.

Clashes have on several occasions broken out between forces loyal to the government and Druze fighters since the fall of President Bashar Assad in early December in a lightning rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups, but Monday's fighting threatened to escalate into a larger conflict.

Here are the main reasons the clashes expanded in recent days and background on the two sides:

The Druze and Sy...