This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-46320355
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Syria radio host Raed Fares shot dead in Idlib | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A prominent Syrian radio journalist has been shot dead by gunmen in the rebel-held province of Idlib, Syria. | |
| Raed Fares, a well-known Syrian activist, was killed in the northwestern town of Kafranbel. | |
| Mr Fares founded Radio Fresh, an independent radio station broadcasting from inside opposition-held areas in the country. | Mr Fares founded Radio Fresh, an independent radio station broadcasting from inside opposition-held areas in the country. |
| He and his radio station had been targeted by jihadist groups in the past. | He and his radio station had been targeted by jihadist groups in the past. |
| Four years ago, when the Islamic State (IS) group had a presence in Idlib province, the station's office was raided by militants. In 2016, Mr Fares was detained by the Nusra Front, the former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. | Four years ago, when the Islamic State (IS) group had a presence in Idlib province, the station's office was raided by militants. In 2016, Mr Fares was detained by the Nusra Front, the former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. |
| The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance (HTS), which currently controls most of Idlib province, ordered Radio Fresh to stop broadcasting music. | The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance (HTS), which currently controls most of Idlib province, ordered Radio Fresh to stop broadcasting music. |
| The station's response was to play long sequences of other sounds, such as tweeting birds, clucking chickens and bleating goats. | |
| "They tried to force us to stop playing music on air," the 45-year-old former estate agent told the BBC in 2017. "So we started to play animals in the background as a kind of sarcastic gesture against them." | |
| Later, the station began to introduce further defiant sounds including bongs from London's Big Ben clock, ticking sounds, ringing explosions and chanting football fans. | |
| Radio Fresh's Facebook page posted a graphic photo of Mr Fares's body on 23 November, along with an image of the body of Hammoud Juneid, another activist who was shot dead. | Radio Fresh's Facebook page posted a graphic photo of Mr Fares's body on 23 November, along with an image of the body of Hammoud Juneid, another activist who was shot dead. |
| Mr Fares had been a vocal critic of President Bashar al-Assad. In his final Facebook post, he described a protest in Kafranbel on 5 October. | |
| "The people of Kafranbel are in Huriyah [Freedom] Square and voices are chanting: The people want the downfall of the regime. We started this in 2011 and we are continuing on. Our loyalty to the martyrs and detainees has increased our determination." | |
| News of his death led to an outpouring of grief on social media from activists and international journalists. | News of his death led to an outpouring of grief on social media from activists and international journalists. |