Syrian security forces are alleged to have executed dozens of people belonging to the Alawite minority in the coastal province of Latakia, according to a war monitoring group.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 162 civilians have been killed in "field executions" in the region - a heartland of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, who also belongs to the Alawite sect.
An interior ministry source told the country's official news agency Sana that "individual violations" had occurred on the coast and pledged to put a stop to them.
BBC News has not been able to verify claims that the killings were committed by the forces of Syria's new rulers.