The violence that began on March 6 and lasted for four days led to 1,600 people losing their lives, according to the British-based Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR). The majority of the dead are said to have belonged to the Alawite ethnic group, like the former dictator Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown in December last year.
UNHCR says in a statement that "families on the run continue to cross unofficial border crossings, including wading through rivers on foot, and arrive exhausted, traumatized, and hungry".
SOHR accuses the Syrian security forces and groups allied with the regime of participating in extrajudicial executions, forced displacements, and burning down homes where entire families were killed, including women, children, and the elderly.
The transitional president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, promises that those behind the "bloodbath of civilians" will be prosecuted, and has formed an investigation committee.
