Beirut, Jumada II 24, 1434, May 4, 2013, SPA - Activists say thousands of Syrians are fleeing a city on the Mediterranean coast following the alleged mass killing of villagers by Al-Assad regime troops and pro-government militiamen. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says around 4,000 Syrians were leaving the city of Banias early Saturday. The exodus comes two days after Al-Assad regime forces and gunmen allegedly killed more than 50 people in the village of Bayda outside of Banias, according to a report of the Associated Press. Observatory directory Rami Abdul-Rahman says that carnage, coupled with house-to-house raids overnight in a neighborhood in Banias, prompted many Syrian families to flee the area. --SPA 11:38 LOCAL TIME 08:38 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1105889