In recent days, Syria suffered the worst violence since the toppling of the regime of Bashar al-Assad last December. Deadly clashes erupted last week in former Assad strongholds between Syria’s new Islamist rulers and insurgents loyal to the former president,

A spate of attacks involving loyalists of former ruler President Bashar al-Assad has spurred concerns of a return to sectarian warfare in Syria, but there is still a path for the country’s new

"To be honest, the Alawites clearly ask for international protection," a former Syrian diplomat told Newsweek.

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.

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.

Syria's fragile transition from decades of Assad family brutal rule has been greatly shaken with an outburst of sectarian retribution and killings, posing a serious challenge to the new leadership led by Ahmad Sharaa.