GENEVA (Reuters) - 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.

Entire families including women and children were killed in Syria’s coastal region as part of a series of sectarian killings by the army against an insurgency by Bashar al-Assad loyalists, the U.N human rights office said on Tuesday.

Hundreds of people have reportedly fled their homes in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus - strongholds of Assad support. Local residents have described scenes of looting and mass killings, including of children.

By bna Cairo bureau Hundreds of civilians have been killed in Syria's coastal region during a military campaign against Alawites, the UN Human Rights Commission announced on March 11. In footage viewed by IntelliNews' Middle East and North Africa bureaus,