A monitoring group says 973 civilians have been killed in revenge attacks against the Alawite sect since Thursday.

Syria's new authorities announced on Monday the end of an operation against loyalists of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, after nearly 1,000 civilians were killed in the worst violence since his overthrow.

A Syrian security source said the pace of fighting had slowed around Latakia, Jabla and Baniyas, while forces searched surrounding mountainous areas where an estimated 5,000 pro-Assad insurgents were hiding.

Syria's new leader has vowed accountability and an investigation after reports of mass killings of Alawite civilians triggered an international backlash against the worst violence since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow.

Syrian war monitor says more than a thousand people have been killed during days of fighting between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted longtime President Bashar al-Assad. The violence erupted on Thursday across the Latakia and Tartus provinces,

In a gripping report by Rizik Alabi for The Media Line, Syria is once again consumed by violence as fighting between pro-Assad rebels and government security forces intensifies in the coastal province of Latakia.