Syrian Army Bars U.N. from Massacre Site
The Syrian army is preventing U.N. observers from reaching a farmland region where at least 55 people were reportedly killed by militants loyal to President Bashar Assad, activists said Thursday.
"Syrian army troops are preventing U.N. observers from reaching Al-Kubeir and the (nearby) village of Maazaraf," the Sham News Network, an activist group, said.
It said the observers were stopped at an army checkpoint Thursday morning and prevented from continuing their trip.
Sausan Ghosheh, a spokeswoman for the U.N. monitors, would only tell Agence France Presse that the U.N. monitors were trying to reach the area located in central Hama province.
"We are still trying to get access to Al-Kubeir," she said. "We haven't reached the area yet."
When asked whether the Syrian army had blocked access to the region she said: "We are trying to find out what happened."
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 55 people were killed in Wednesday's assault on the Al-Kubeir area.
"There are 49 confirmed and identified victims in Al-Kubeir, the majority of them from the Al-Yateem family," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Observatory.
"Among the dead are 18 women and children," he said, adding that six other people were also killed on Wednesday in a village near Al-Kubeir, which is in a farming area northwest of Hama city.
The opposition has blamed the massacre on militiamen loyal to Assad's regime, which denied involvement.
The government said a "terrorist group" was behind an assault in Al-Kubeir that left nine people dead.
Source: Agence France Presse
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