Footage and satellite images reviewed by The Times show civilians in the compound. Thousands have fled violent unrest in the country’s coastal region.

Armed groups killed entire families, including women and children, during an outbreak of sectarian violence in Syria last week, the United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday.

The killings occurred in the heartland of Syria’s Alawite minority, escalating after a nascent insurgency formed against the Sunni Islamist government.

Syria's interim President Ahmed Sharaa said mass killings of members of ousted President Bashar al-Assad's minority sect were a threat to his mission to unite the country and promised to punish those responsible,

Syria’s interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa has formed a committee to investigate the violence in some cities that killed hundreds of civilians in recent days and sparked condemnation from the international community.

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

The violence that has killed hundreds across Syria reached Damascus and Aleppo on Monday, after Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

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.