Russia condemns "terrorist" acts against Syrian civilians and urges the opposition to abandon the tactics of violence and open negotiations with the authorities, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

A militant group has killed the son of Syria's grand mufti together with a Syrian university professor in recent days, the two latest victims in a new wave of assassinations that has hit the country.

"We are convinced that terrorist methods... can only provoke a dangerous confrontation and even a civil war with devastating consequences both for Syria and for the region as a whole," the ministry said in a statement.

The Syrian government has used force to crush opposition protests, which followed a wave of uprisings in other Arab countries.

The UN says over 2,000 people have died since the start of the protests in March.