Syria's interim leader has appealed for unity, as violence and revenge killings continued in areas loyal to ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad on Sunday.Hundreds of people have reportedly fled their homes in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus - strongholds of Assad support.

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

More than 1,000 people were killed after two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted President Bashar al-Assad erupt. View on euronews

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

More than 1,000 people, including women and children, have been killed in Syria as its new Islamist rulers clash with loyalists of the toppled Assad regime, marking one of the country’s most violent episodes since conflict began there 14 years ago.

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

Syria's interim President Ahmed Sharaa said mass killings of members of ousted President Bashar al-Assad's minority sect were a threat to his mission to unite the country and promised to punish those responsible,

The violence that has killed hundreds across Syria reached Damascus and Aleppo on Monday, after Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

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.

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,