DAMASCUS: Syrian troops and local residents are preventing UN observers from reaching a site where 55 people were reported killed by pro-regime militants, the head of the UN mission in Syria said Thursday.

“The UN Supervision Mission in Syria dispatched UN observers to Al-Kubeir early Thursday morning to verify reports of large-scale killings in the village,” Major General Robert Mood said in a statement.

He said the observers were stopped at Syrian army checkpoints and in some cases turned back. He said civilians were also stopping the monitors.

“We are receiving information from residents of the area that the safety of our observers is at risk if we enter (the) village of Al-Kubeir,” Mood said.

“Despite these challenges, the observers are still working to get into the village to try to establish the facts on the ground,” he added.

Mood said he was concerned that the restrictions imposed on the movement of the monitors will impede their ability to carry out their mission.

Syrian state television however denied that the monitors were being turned back by the Syrian army.

“An official source has denied media reports saying the observers have been prevented from entering Al-Kubeir,” the television said, adding that authorities were assisting the observers in gaining access to any region they wished to enter.

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.