Four days of clashes between pro-government gunmen and members of a minority sect in Syria have left nearly 100 people dead and raised fears of deadly sectarian violence.

After the Alawites, Christians, are other minorities next?” a community leader told The Jerusalem Post. “This is really shocking and heartbreaking.”

Syrian Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri on Thursday condemned what he called a "genocidal campaign" against his community after two days of deadly sectarian clashes left 101 people dead.The violence poses a serious challenge to the Islamist authorities who ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.