Syrian radio host Raed Fares shot dead in Idlib

A prominent Syrian radio journalist has been shot dead by gunmen in the rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib.

Raed Fares, a well-known Syrian activist, was killed in the north-western town of Kafranbel.

Fares was the founder of 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.

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, 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, had 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.

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.

A vocal critic of President Bashar al-Assad, Fares described a protest in Kafranbel on 5 October in his final Facebook post.

"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.