Syria's new authorities under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa have sought to disband armed groups
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor has reported that 745 Alawite civilians were killed in Latakia and Tartus provinces.
Syrian authorities said the violence began when remnants loyal to Assad launched a deadly and well-planned attack on their forces on Thursday.
There were no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Sharaa was appointed Wednesday to lead Syria for an unspecified transitional period
No group has claimed the four activists' abduction and they have not been heard from since.
Ankara-backed rebels played a key role in supporting Sharaa's Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which headed a rebel alliance that seized Damascus on December 8, toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
The seismic change in Syria is expected to yield deeper Turkish sway just as a change of US administration is raising questions over how long Washington will keep backing the country's Kurdish-led forces.
Assad fled Syria following a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), more than 13 years after his crackdown on democracy protests precipitated one of the deadliest wars of the century.
German Ambassador in Dhaka Dr Thomas Prinz today says his country will welcome political asylum-seekers but no illegal migrants.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the "breathtaking" flow of migrants into Germany will "occupy and change" the country in the coming years.
Austria says it is planning to phase out special measures that have allowed thousands of migrants to travel freely from Hungary to Western Europe.
A convoy of cars driven by German and Austrian activists crosses into Hungary to pick up migrants and help them reach western Europe.
US Secretary of State John Kerry expresses concern to Moscow over reports of Russian military build-up in Syria, the state department says.
The recent picture of the child all-dolled up and lying dead on the beach had drenched our hearts with tears. He was one of the thousands of refugees who were trying to escape to safety from the civil war raging in the Middle-east.
The Syrian man who survived a capsizing during a desperate voyage from Turkey to Greece buried his wife and two sons on Friday in their hometown of Kobani, returning them to the conflict-torn Syrian Kurdish region they had fled.
From learning the real issues to supporting both large organizations and grassroots efforts alike, here are six concrete ways that you can help during the refugee crisis.
The image of little Aylan Kurdi is hammering home the Syrian migrant crisis to the world, largely through social media.
The UK is to provide resettlement to "thousands" more Syrian refugees in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis, David Cameron has announced.
