The death toll from two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 1,000, a war monitoring group said Saturday,

The death toll from recent clashes in Syria has surpassed 1,000, with significant casualties among civilians, security forces, and militants. The violence marks a severe escalation in the ongoing conflict,

A human rights group characterized the killings as executions and massacres, carried out in revenge against the Alawite community, which made up Assad's longtime base of support.