Opposition activists in Syria have posted unverified footage online which they say shows the gruesome aftermath of one of two government massacres in as many days.

Hundreds of Syrians are fleeing coastal areas in the country's north-west, where rebels say more than 70 were killed on Thursday in the village of al-Bayda.

Opposition groups say almost 80 died in the neighbouring town of Baniyas on Friday.

Syrian state television say government forces fought back against terrorist groups in the area to restore peace and security.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition monitoring group, has uploaded footage to the internet that they say was taken in Baniyas.

The gruesome pictures show the mutilated and burnt bodies of women and children inside their houses.

Some were lying in pools of blood, and one toddler was covered in burns, her clothes singed and her legs charred.

Activist reports and videos on the killings could not be independently verified as the Syrian government restricts access for independent media.

The two-year-old uprising against four decades of Assad family rule has been led by Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, and sectarian clashes and alleged massacres have become increasingly common in a conflict that has killed more than 70,000 people.

Minorities such as the Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, have largely stood behind president Bashar al-Assad, who is from the Alawite sect.

Baniyas is a Sunni pocket in the midst of a large Alawite enclave on Syria's Mediterranean coast, and activists in the area accuse militias loyal to Mr Assad of ethnic cleansing.

"I estimate that hundreds of families left and headed for nearby towns like Jableh and Tartous," head of the British-based Syrian Observatory, Rami Abdelrahman, said.

"But now the army is turning people back at the checkpoints outside the town, telling them to go back to Baniyas, that nothing is wrong.

"There are also announcements going out on mosque loud speakers telling people to return home."

Another video posted online by activists showed what they said were the bodies of 20 people killed in Baniyas on Friday, all from the same family, including women and nine children.

The observatory blamed the killings on the National Defence Forces, a new paramilitary group made up mostly of fighters from minorities that back Mr Assad's regime.

Elsewhere, Mr Assad has made a rare public appearance at Damascus University to unveil a statue to honour students martyred in the conflict.

Air strike

Meanwhile, Israeli officials say they have conducted an airstrike against Syria to target a shipment of missiles, which they say was being sent to Hezbollah militants in neighbouring Lebanon.

Reports attributed to officials in Israel and the United States claim several Israeli fighter jets entered Lebanese airspace late on Thursday.

From there, and possibly without crossing into Syrian airspace, they are said to have bombed a weapons convoy reportedly bound for the militant Shia organisation based in Lebanon.

Israeli sources said the convoy contained significant weaponry - possibly Russian-made ground-to-air missiles.

US president Barack Obama has since said that Israel is justified in protecting itself.

Mr Obama joined Israeli officials in declining to comment on the reports, saying he would let the Jewish state "confirm or deny whatever strikes they have taken".

"What I have said in the past and I continue to believe is that the Israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organisations like Hezbollah," he said.

"We coordinate closely with the Israelis, recognising that they are very close to Syria, they are very close to Lebanon."

ABC/wires/BBC