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 UN human rights office has verified the killing of 111 civilians in the coastal region, but says the actual figure is far higher.

Assaults on the country's Alawite minority continue despite promises that Syria's new leaders will carve out a future that includes all communities.

Syria's fragile transition from decades of Assad family brutal rule has been greatly shaken with an outburst of sectarian retribution and killings, posing a serious challenge to the new leadership led by Ahmad Sharaa.