Syrian man 'assassinated' in Germany... sparking fears Damascus is 'hunting down its critics in Europe'



A Syrian man has been killed 'execution-style' in Germany as fears grow that the Damascus regime is actively hunting down its critics in Europe.

The 35-year-old man was killed after he stopped in his Volkswagen car at a set of traffic lights in Sarstedt, near Hanover, and two men opened the doors and fired inside.



The two assassins then fled the scene. The victim died from head wounds and a special murder squad has been formed at Hildesheim, where he lived.

Assassination: A Syrian man has been killed 'execution-style' in Germany as fears grow that the Damascus regime is actively hunting down its critics in Europe

Police made no speculation whether his murder was linked to the unrest in Syria that has been continuing since March last year.

The victim's name, in accordance with German media laws, was not released.

The murder comes a week after a critic of President Bashar Assad's regime was badly beaten by men wielding iron bars at his home in Berlin.

The Syrian ambassador to Germany was summoned to the foreign ministry in Berlin last month after the attack on a Berlin councillor, Ferhad Ahma.

The 37-year-old Green party politician suffered a severe beating when he opened his door to two men claiming to be police officers.

He believes Syria's secret police were behind the brutal assault on Boxing Day.



Crackdown: Syrian President Bashar Assad

Ahma is an outspoken critic of the Damascus regime, and suffered serious bruises and other wounds in the attack but a spokesman for the Berlin police said that its state security force had taken over the investigation.

The Syrian authorities have been responsible for 5,000 civilian deaths in the country since opposition to the regime started to grow 10 months ago.

Arab League observers, who are in Syria to make sure it keeps its promise to stop cracking down on the dissent, today said the government had withdrawn heavy weapons from inside its cities and freed 3,500 prisoners.



But the League's Nabil Elaraby added that security forces continue to kill protesters and pro-regime snipers are still operating.



President Assad agreed to the monitoring plan on December 19. But since monitors began work last Tuesday, activists said 150 people, the vast majority of them unarmed, peaceful protesters, have been killed.



Elaby said: 'Yes, there is still shooting and yes there are still snipers. Yes, killings continue.



'The objective is for us to wake up in the morning and hear that no one is killed. The mission's philosophy is to protect civilians, so if one is killed, then our mission is incomplete. There must be a complete cease-fire.'



Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, confirmed tanks had withdrawn from cities. But he said residents reported that the weapons were still a threat.

