Syria's interim president, Ahmed Sharaa, responded to the outbreak of violence and armed clashes between supporters of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad and the new government, which resulted in the deaths of many hundreds of people.

An ambush on a Syrian security patrol by gunmen loyal to ousted leader Bashar Assad escalated into clashes that a war monitor estimates have killed more than 1,000 people over four days

Armed men loyal to the Syrian government carried out field executions and spoke of purifying the country, according to eyewitnesses and video, providing a gruesome picture of a crackdown against remnants of the former Assad regime that spiraled into communal killings.

Syria’s interim government has announced the end of a days-long military operation against insurgents loyal to ousted president Bashar Assad and his family in the worst fighting since the end of the 13-year civil war in December.

Syria's new authorities announced on Monday the end of an operation against loyalists of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, after nearly 1,000 civilians were killed in the worst violence since his overthrow.

The announcement comes as the fighting between pro-Assad militias and members of the security forces killed more than 1,000 people, majority of whom are civilians, amid reports of rights violations.

A war monitoring group said more than 1,000 were killed in revenge attacks and clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad.