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.

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.

Hundreds of members of Syria’s Alawite minority, including women and children, have been killed in reprisal attacks after clashes between government forces and armed remnants of the previous regime spiraled into widespread sectarian bloodshed,