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Gunmen Kill Two Activists in Northwest Syria
[An Nahar] Two activists critical of both the regime and jihadists were bumped off Friday in Syria's last major rebel bastion in the northwest of the country, their radio station and a monitor said.

Citizen journalist Raed Fares and Hamod Jnaid were "rubbed out by unknown assailants riding in a van in the town of Kafr Nabel" in Idlib province, Fresh FM said on its Facebook page.

More than half of Idlib and the surrounding region is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
, an alliance led by jihadists of Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate, while most of the rest is held by pro-The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire....
 rebels.

The Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 (IS) group also has a presence in the province.

Targeted killings and kidnappings have for months plagued Idlib, with angry residents blaming all sides.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britannia-based war monitor, said the two men died of their wounds from the attack, for which there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

"They were famous for their criticism of rebels committing violations or arresting civilians, especially when it came to jihadist groups," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

"Both have several times been detained by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham," he said.

Throughout Syria's seven-year uprising, Fares has been known for his often humorous signs in English and Arabic criticizing Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
's regime.

Fares founded Fresh FM in 2013 to counter "fundamentalist narratives" in Idlib, he has said, after which he was repeatedly targeted by gangs.

IS bandidos turbans raided the radio's offices on several occasions, but it was also bombarded by regime forces, he wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Times in June.

"In 2014, I almost lost my life when two gunnies shot up me and shot me in the chest," he said.

"I was kidnapped four times by al-Qaeda bandidos turbans and released a few days later after being tortured."

Jnaid, who also worked at the radio, was an advocate for freedom of expression and the rule of law.

"I want freedom of opinion. I want to be able to speak and not be scared," he said in a video posted on Facebook earlier this year.


Posted by: Fred 2018-11-24
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=528268