A Syrian war monitor said that security forces and allied groups have killed 745 Alawite civilians over the past three days, revising upwards a previous toll.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the latest deaths among Alawite civilians pushed the overall toll in violence since Thursday to 1,018, as fighting killed 125 security personnel and 148 fighters loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad.
Residents of the region continued to report killings of civilians after deadly clashes broke out on Thursday between Syria's new authorities and gunmen loyal to toppled president Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite.
The official SANA news agency reported that security forces had deployed to Latakia, as well as Jableh and Baniyas farther south, to restore order.
France has condemned violence in Syria targeting "civilians because of their faith, and prisoners".
A French foreign ministry statement called on Syria's new authorities "to ensure that independent investigations can shed light on these crimes, and that the perpetrators are sentenced".
Baniyas resident Samir Haidar, 67, said that two of his brothers and his niece were killed by "armed groups" that entered people's homes, adding that there were "foreigners among them".
He managed to escape to a Sunni neighbourhood, but said: "If I had been five minutes late, I would have been killed...we were saved in the last minutes."
Though himself an Alawite, Mr Haidar was part of the leftist opposition to the Assads and was imprisoned for more than a decade under their rule.
Defence ministry spokesman Hassan Abdul Ghani said the security forces had "re-imposed control" over areas that had seen attacks by Assad loyalists.
"It is strictly forbidden to approach any home or attack anyone inside their homes," he added in a video posted by SANA.
Calls to surrender
The killings followed clashes sparked by the arrest of a wanted suspect in a predominantly Alawite village, the Observatory reported.
The monitor said there has been a "relative return to calm" in the region, as the security forces deployed reinforcements.
A defence ministry source told SANA that troops had blocked roads leading to the coast to prevent "violations", without specifying who was committing them.
Latakia province security director Mustafa Kneifati said: "We will not allow for sedition or the targeting of any component of the Syrian people.
"We will not tolerate any acts of revenge under any circumstances," he told SANA.
Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the lightning offensive that toppled Mr Assad in December, has its roots in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda and remains proscribed as a terrorist organisation by many governments including the US.
Since the rebel victory, it has sought to moderate its rhetoric and vowed to protect Syria's religious and ethnic minorities.
'Slaughtered'
The Alawite heartland has been gripped by fear of reprisals for the Assad family's brutal rule, which included widespread torture and disappearances.
Social media users have shared posts documenting the killing of Alawite friends and relatives, with one user saying her mother and brothers were all "slaughtered" in their home.
AFP could not independently verify the accounts.
The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, has reported multiple "massacres" in recent days, with women and children among the dead.
"The vast majority of the victims were summarily executed by elements affiliated to the ministry of defence and the interior," the monitor said yesterday.
Read more: Scores killed as Syrian forces fight Alawite insurgency
The UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, decried "very troubling reports of civilian casualties".
He called on all sides to refrain from actions which could "destabilise Syria, and jeopardise a credible and inclusive political transition".
The International Committee of the Red Cross urged all parties to "ensure unimpeded access to health care and protection of medical facilities".
"First responders and humanitarian workers must be allowed safe access to provide medical aid and to transport the wounded and dead," it said in a post on X.
Aron Lund of the Century International think-tank said the violence was "a bad omen".
The new government lacks the tools, incentives and local support base to engage with disgruntled Alawites, he said.
"All they have is repressive power, and a lot of that... is made up of jihadist zealots who think Alawites are enemies of God."
