Toll Crosses 1,500 as Syria Ends Ops Against Loyalists of Assad

Syria's new authorities announced on Monday the end of an operation against loyalists of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, after more than 1,500 people including civilians, security personnel and pro-Assad fighters were killed in the worst violence since his overthrow.

- Agencies

DAMASCUS:

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported the mass killings of at least 1,068 civilians since Thursday, the overwhelming majority of them members of the Alawite minority executed by security forces or allied groups.

The ensuing violence killed 231 security personnel and 250 pro-Assad fighters, according to the Britain-based Observatory which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.