Hundreds of people were killed in Syria over four days after violent clashes between the army and loyalists of the deposed president Bashar al-Assad swept its western coastal region.

More than 70 people were killed and dozens more wounded in Syria in fighting between government security forces and militants loyal to deposed ruler Bashar al-Assad, a war monitor said Friday. "More than 70 killed and dozens wounded and captured in bloody clashes and ambushes on the Syrian coast between members of the Ministry of Defense and Interior and militants from the defunct regime's army,

Syrian security forces fought with Al Assad loyalists for a second day in the country's coastal region on Friday, as the Islamist-led government sought to quell the deadliest unrest since the fall of the former regime.