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.

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.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that a curfew has been imposed in the port cities of Latakia, Tartous and Homs, where the deadly clashes broke out on Thursday after Syrian government forces were ambushed during a security operation.