Syria's interim President Ahmed al-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 commander of a Kurdish-led force in Syria said on Sunday the country's interim president must hold the perpetrators of communal violence in Syria's coastal areas to account, accusing Turkey-backed factions of being primarily behind the killings.

Syria's new leader has vowed accountability and an investigation after reports of mass killings of Alawite civilians triggered an international backlash against the worst violence since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow.

A Syrian military operation against remnants of the former Assad regime has now ended, having sparked some of the worst violence seen in the country in years.

A Syrian security source said the pace of fighting had slowed around Latakia, Jabla and Baniyas, while forces searched surrounding mountainous areas where an estimated 5,000 pro-Assad insurgents were hiding.

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