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

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.

The Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which controls much of Syria's oil-rich northeast, signed a deal with the Damascus government on Monday to join Syria's new state institutions,

The agreement was signed by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.