One of Syria’s most famous activists was assassinated by masked gunmen in Syrias rebel-held northwestern province, according to associates, underscoring the mortal threats facing a dwindling pool of dissidents who still openly criticize government and extremist forces there. Raed Fares, 46, was the founder of Radio Fresh, a station that provided news of the conflict to Syrias northern provinces. It was a source for international news outlets which have largely stayed away from the opposition-held areas amid rising lawlessness. His killing was a blow to the few independent voices that have continued to promote nonviolence and democratic change in the war-torn country. In a June op-ed in The Washington Post, Fares lamented that the US had cut funds to Syrias opposition areas, including the radio station he founded in 2013 in his hometown of Kafranbel in rebel-held Idlib province. He said such a move would only feed extremism. "As a journalist and activist, I felt I had a duty to counter the fundamentalist narratives that are spreading among people who have no other source for hope in our war-torn homeland," Fares wrote in the Post on June 28. His station provided training and jobs for hundreds of young activists and citizen journalists. "If it werent for us and other independent voices, terrorists would be the only source of information about Syria locally and internationally. For that reason, the terrorist groups (and the regime) see us as a direct threat." Fares survived an earlier assassination attempt in 2014 when he was shot in the chest by armed men. He was abducted by militants affiliated with an al-Qaida group and tortured. He criticized the militants harassment of its critics. His radio station was raided by militants and bombed by government warplanes. But on Friday, Fares was fatally shot. His attackers drove up in a van and fired at him and his colleague Hammoud al-Juneid in Kafranbel while they were in their vehicle, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. They both died shortly of their wounds. Photographs shared online Friday showed the activist’s body lying on a hospital stretcher. An eyewitness said that armed men had sprayed bullets into his car as it pulled up outside an apartment block in Kafranbel, killing Fares and Juneid. The identities of Fares’ killers were not immediately clear Friday, but his death intensified a growing climate of fear in Idlib, Syria’s most northern province and the country’s final rebel bastion. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent months as armed groups turn on each other and activists are targeted for their work, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group. Social media sites were rife with the news of Fares killing. "My last friend & hope 4 a better Syria has been killed (today) after being let down by" everyone, Zaina Erhaim, a UK-based Syrian journalist who left the country in 2016, wrote on Twitter. Fares gained fame during the Syrian uprising because of continued support for opposition protests even when the conflict took a violent turn. His town gained attention during weekly anti-government protests because of the humorous English-language banners he created for each rally. "Do not send money. Gold is not edible," one banner read, urging the world to free a besieged area instead of sending assistance. He organized protests to express support for the victims of the 2013 Boston bombings. "A sorrowful scene of what happens in Syria every day. Do accept our condolences." Fares was also a vocal critic of extremist militants, supporting rallies against them, and accused them of silencing dissent. The Observatory reported that more than 390 people have been shot and killed since April in the rebel-held north amid a wave of assassination and lawlessness. In his op-ed in the Post, Fares said he had seen militants regrouping in the absence of support for the less radical opposition. "Syrias democratic future relies on our success," he wrote. Mohammed Katoub, a doctor who supports health facilities in rebel-held areas, said public figures and civil society activists are increasingly under threat in northwestern Syria by militant groups. He said at least 13 doctors have disappeared since 2018. "I think the targeted people are all public figures and community leaders who believe in the same values of humanity, dignity, justice and liberty," Katoub said. "You cant know (Fares) without loving him, his smile, his optimism, his hopes for Syria, (his) way of thinking and creativity."