Syrian government forces in northwest Syria have killed thirteen members of the same family, almost all women and children. Some reports from activists groups in the region say some of the victims were burned alive.

The massacre happened in Bayda near the seaport of Banias. The family was in a Sunni village where government supporters have been trying to rid the area of Sunnis.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the women and children were crowded into a room inside a house which was then set on fire.

Bayda is a town of mostly Sunni Muslims surrounded by the Alawite sect of Presdient Bashar al-Assad.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that while Al-Assad has gotten stronger in recent months, there is a “stalemate” on the ground and that western governments should consider working with “moderate” members of the rebel forces.