A prominent radio host and activist has been assassinated in Syria's rebel-held Idlib.

Gunmen shot Raed al Fares, along with his friend Hamoud al Juneid, in the town of Kafranbel, home to the Radio Fresh station, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The station, which Mr Fares founded, produced independent news and satirised both President Bashar al Assad and opposition insurgents.

Mr Fares gained prominence early in the uprising against Mr Assad, which began with mass demonstrations in 2011 with protest banners that drew international attention.

Image: The banners drew international attention

The banners targeted Mr Assad, his ally Iran and Western powers that Mr Fares portrayed as selling out ordinary Syrians through their response to the crisis, and the jihadist militants who emerged from the chaos.


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Mr Fares also distributed photographs and video clips showing the toll that war was taking in Kafranbel to produce a picture of what it was like to live in rebel-held parts of Syria which were too dangerous for foreign journalists to report from.

He survived an assassination attempt in 2014 when Islamic State gunmen shot him in the chest.

He said his offices had been targeted both by government bombardment and by jihadists, who abducted and tortured him several times.

Writing in The Washington Post in June, he called for the US to resume financial support for Radio Fresh.

Mr Fares wrote that "the terrorist groups (and the regime) see us as a direct threat".

Don't want to believe @RaedFares4 has been killed. One of the few peaceful pro-democracy activists from the early days of the uprising who was still in #Syria .Tireless, uncompromisingly principled, good humored, big-hearted and much more. A huge loss. #KafraNbel . RIP my friend pic.twitter.com/XjWMhnfu3S — Donatella Rovera (@DRovera) November 23, 2018

News of his death sparked an outpouring of grief and tributes to Mr Fares.

The jihadist Tahrir al Sham alliance is the most powerful of several groups present in Idlib province.

Image: News of Mr Fares' death sparked outraged

A Russian-Turkish deal to prevent further fighting in northwest Syria, the last rebel stronghold, has for now averted a planned government offensive.

The Observatory has reported a succession of assassinations in Idlib over the past year targeting leaders from the area's major factions and political dissidents who publicly disagree with their political stance.