[ad_1]
Raed Al Fares and another activist and journalist, Hamoud Junaid, were killed Friday in the city of Kafr Nabl after being persecuted by extremist groups, the group of journalists said.
"The two men who were killed were pioneers of civil society and brought the word to the world through the famous banners of Kafr Nabl," the group said in a statement.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a human rights group based in Britain, said unidentified gunmen had killed Fares and Junaid in Kafr Nabl, where was their station Radio Fresh, funded by the United States.
No group has claimed responsibility for the murders.
Fares created Radio Fresh in 2013 to disseminate information about the conflict in Syria, particularly in the northern provinces. It continued until the United States reduced funds for rebel-controlled areas, including radio, in June.
The activist saw radio as a means of raising awareness of the ideas he advocated, including social justice and democracy. Raed Al Fares
Fares, born in 1972, often called for demonstrations, but stressed that they must be peaceful. He was known for his famous protest banners in English at Idlib.
As the war in Syria progressed, Fares secretly filmed and broadcast footage showing the suffering of the Kafr Nabl population.
In 2014, he was shot in the chest by the Islamic State and was abducted and tortured repeatedly, according to the observatory.
"I've known them for at least four years since the beginning of the liberation," Ayman Akkad, a 30-year-old friend, told CNN.
"Raed is the one to whom I address when I want honest and complete advice … totally honest and straightforward." He always joked about the number of times he had found bombs hidden around his house, he said. Would not buy a car because it would be his grave, "said Akkad.
"He waged an endless battle for the democracy and prosperity of Syria, he pleaded for justice during times of fear when everyone was silent, and my reaction was as if I was waiting for him. I knew it a little … It sounded familiar, but it was heartbreaking that it happened. "
In a joint statement on Facebook, Jim Jeffrey, Special Representative of the US Secretary of State for Engagement in Syria, and Joel Rayburn, US Deputy Secretary of State and Special Envoy for Syria, have stated that the two activists "lived their lives as heroes".
They "were patriots and activists who dedicated their lives to building a better future for Syria and the Syrian people, as symbols of the Syrian revolution and the best of Syrian youth. the first revolutionaries to put their creativity and skills at the service of society, to serve to serve their people and their nation ".
According to the statement, "the traitorous, criminal and malicious hands responsible for their assassination can not and will not succeed in erasing their inheritance".
"He was also a long-time friend of @statedept, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and (Hamoud) Junaid's family, who inspired them," said Nauert.
The state department also issued a statement that the two men "were never afraid to tell the truth and defend the original values of the revolution".
"The Syrians and the world will always remember the famous Raed signs in Kafr Nabel, and Hamoud's images will forever serve as testimony to the crimes that the Syrian regime has committed against the Syrian people," the statement said. 39; State.
Since the beginning of the Syrian revolution in 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed, including dozens of activists.
[ad_2]Source link
