“Without enough safe water and sanitation, the likelihood that children in Syria and those living as refugees around the region will fall sick with diarrhoea and other diseases is certain to rise,” said Maria Calivis, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

In Syria, the availability of safe water is one third what it was before the crisis. Many of the civilians displaced by the conflict live in overcrowded shelters with insufficient access to toilets and showers. Sewage systems are damaged or overwhelmed by the increase in displaced populations, the agency stated in a news release. Without enough safe water and sanitation, the likelihood that children in Syria and those living as refugees around the region will fall sick with diarrhoea and other diseases is certain to rise.

In refugee camps like Domiz in Iraq – expanded to accommodate around 25,000 people but now hosting almost twice that number – conditions are just as severe. In Jordan’s Za’atari camp, aid agencies are struggling to meet the needs of what is now the world’s second biggest refugee camp, housing at least 120,000 people.

In Lebanon, more than half a million refugees are scattered in host communities and in informal tented settlements, placing increased pressure on existing water and sanitation services. Multiple families often share small apartments or live in makeshift settlements that lack access to safe water, basic toilets and waste collection. Women and children often have to walk long distances to collect water that in many cases may be unfit for drinking, UNICEF noted.

There are some 6.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the fighting between the Syrian army and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad. The crisis, which began in March 2011, has claimed more than 93,000 lives and sent some 1.5 million people fleeing to neighbouring countries for safety.

As the escalating conflict triggers larger population movements, UNICEF has accelerated efforts to provide sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services, reaching almost nine million people since the beginning of the year.

The agency warns, however, that funding constraints remain an issue. “Providing water, sanitation and hygiene services to those affected by this crisis is our most costly operation – but one of the least funded,” Ms. Calivis said.

UNICEF needs more than $200 million for its water, sanitation and hygiene programmes in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq until the end of the year. Nearly half way through the year, it remains $124 million short of this target.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights at least 62 murdered civilians have been found in a Sunni neighbourhood of the Syrian city of Banias,  reported AFP.

“We have identified 62 citizens by their names, photos, or videos, including 14 children,” the group said, adding that the toll could rise.

The group also,  posted online a video showing the bodies of 10 people it said were killed in the district of the city Ras al Nabaa with most of them being children.

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

Banias, like Daraa saw some of the first demonstrations since the two-year conflict began in March 2011.

The region’s three main coastal cities of Banias, Latakia and Tartus and their surrounding areas which are referred to as “Alawite heartland” where analysts predict that Assad could seek protection if his regime collapses.

Meanwhile , the State Department strongly condemned the massacre in al-Baida village.

“The United States is appalled by horrific reports that more than 100 people were killed May 2 in gruesome attacks on the coastal town of al-Bayda, Syria. Regime and Shabiha forces reportedly destroyed the area with mortar fire then stormed the town and executed entire families, including women and children. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this tragedy,” State Department said in a statement.

“We strongly condemn atrocities against the civilian population and reinforce our solidarity with the Syrian people. As the Assad regime’s violence against innocent civilians escalates, we will not lose sight of the men, women, and children whose lives are being so brutally cut short. We call on all responsible actors in Syria to speak out against the perpetration of unlawful killings against any group, regardless of faith or ethnicity. Those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations and abuses of human rights law must be held accountable.”

The massacre in Ras al Nabaa took place two days after gunmen loyal to the regime  killed at least  50 Sunnis in the nearby village of al-Baida.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have confirmed that the country’s air force carried out a strike against Syria and say it targeted a shipment of advanced missiles, Al Jazeera reported.

The officials said on Saturday the shipment was weapons bound for the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

Sectarian clashes and massacres have increased in the two-year-old uprising has been led by Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority  which has left more than 70,000 people dead.

Violence erupted hours after reports emerged that army troops had shot dead an anti Syrian regime Sunni cleric when his convoy failed to stop at a checkpoint in north Lebanon on Sunday, AFP reported.

The incident which raised fears of a repeat of sectarian conflict in 2008,  took place following a week of clashes in the northern port city of Tripoli between Sunnis hostile to the Syrian regime and Alawites who support President Bashar al-Assad.

The uprising in Syria has resulted in a deep split between Lebanon’s political parties where the opposition backs those leading the revolt against Assad and accuse the Lebanese government of following orders of the Syrian regime while a ruling coalition led by the Shia Hezbollah supports the regime, Al Jazeera reported.

Last week, clashes sparked by the Syrian crisis killed at least eight people in the northern city of Tripoli.

The Syrian National Council in a statement issued two days ago has called on Lebanese authorities to abide by the Arab League and International sanctions imposed on the Syrian regime and to prevent the wire fraud and money laundering conducted by Syrian regime in collaboration with some of its allies in Lebanon.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati tried calm tensions by stating, “The government is determined to continue to shoulder its national responsibilities amid this critical period in Lebanon and the region, and it will take all measures necessary to preserve civil peace,” he said in a statement.

More than 12,000 people, the majority of them civilians, have died in Syria since an anti-regime revolt broke out in March last year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.