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 Syrian Network for Human Rights said armed groups and foreign fighters aligned with the government but not integrated into it were largely responsible for the sectarian violence.

Entire families including women and children were killed in Syria's coastal region during a military crackdown against an insurgency by Bashar al-Assad loyalists, the U.N human rights office said on Tuesday.