The killings occurred in the heartland of Syria’s Alawite minority, escalating after a nascent insurgency formed against the Sunni Islamist government.

Gunmen and security forces linked to Syria's new Islamist rulers killed more than 340 people, the head of a war monitor said.

Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa has promised accountability and an independent investigation after reports of mass executions of Alawite civilians sparked international condemnation. Rights groups say nearly 1,

Syrian security forces deployed heavily in the Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast yesterday, after a war monitor reported that government and allied forces killed more than 500 civilians from the religious minority in recent days.

Syrian security forces deployed heavily in the Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast this weekend, after a war monitor reported that government and allied forces killed nearly 750 civilians from the religious minority in recent days.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa called for national unity and peace on Sunday, after more than 1,000 people were reportedly killed in coastal Syria in the worst clashes since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 162 civilians were "executed" in a coastal region linked to ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

Assad's régime in Syria, the new government, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, have drawn international condemnation for a four day spiral of violence in the regions of Latakia and Tartus. When a group of gunmen loyal to Assad ambushed Syrian security forces,