Christians and other religious minorities in Syria are sounding the alarm as more than 1,000 people have been killed since last Thursday in what rights groups describe as some of the worst atrocities

More than 1,000 people have been killed in clashes in the coastal provinces of Syria, according to one war monitoring group.

Over 1,300 people have been killed in fierce clashes between government forces and gunmen loyal to the Assad regime, according to a war monitor, in a serious challenge to the country’s new rulers.

The government of Syria says it has ended an operation in the coastal governorates of Latakia and Tartous after four days of fighting between security forces and pro-Assad armed fighters. The unrest came only three months after the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in an offensive by opposition fighters.

An ambush on a Syrian security patrol by gunmen loyal to ousted leader Bashar Assad escalated into clashes that a war monitor estimates have killed more than 1,000 people over four days.

Russia is co-ordinating with Washington on efforts to end the violence in Syria, Moscow's envoy to the UN said on Monday. Vasily Nebenzya told reporters ahead of a closed-door UN Security Council meeting that Russia had contacted the US to collaborate on the issue.