Syria's new authorities announced on Monday the end of an operation against loyalists of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, after a war

At least 973 civilians, including women and children, have been killed in Syria in recent days as forces of the new administration seek to crush loyalists of former President Bashar al-Assad, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Syria is in the throes of its worst bloodshed since the fall of Bashar al-Assad three months ago. Since March 6th Sunni fighters have rampaged through heartlands of the Alawites, the ethnic group which the Assads,

The Economist’s Syria correspondent Gareth Browne was in Latakia when violence erupted, seemingly set off by Assad regime loyalists. He tells Becky Anderson about the apparently out-of-control response to what Syria’s government is characterizing as an attempted insurrection.

Syria has suffered its worst bloodshed since Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power, with more than 1,000 people reported killed in violence that has swept the coastal region since Thursday.