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.

A Syrian fact-finding committee investigating sectarian killings during clashes by rival groups during an insurgency by Bashar al-Assad loyalists said on Tuesday that no one was above the law and it would seek the arrest and prosecution of any perpetrators.

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