Syria: Prominent activist and pregnant wife killed in northern city of Al-Bab

A prominent Syrian opposition activist was assassinated in northern Syria on Friday alongside his pregnant wife.

Muhammad Abdullatif, known as Abu Ghannoum, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the city of Al-Bab in the Aleppo governorate. The area is under the control of the "Syrian National Army" and other Turkish-backed Syrian factions.

اغتيال الناشط محمد عبد اللطيف "أبو غنوم" وزوجته في مدينة الباب pic.twitter.com/yIsdtqWLnp

— مايا الحسن (@ma_a570) October 7, 2022

Abu Ghannoum was on a motorbike with his wife when gunmen opened fire on them outside a bakery, reported The New Arab’s sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

He was one of the most prominent media activists in opposition-run northern Syria, according to local sources, and a coordinator of popular protests against both the Assad regime and opposition armed factions in the area, who are frequently accused of lawlessness and human rights violations.

The killing has sparked outrage in Al-Bab and surrounding region. An opposition group known as "The Revolutionary Street in Al-Bab City" issued a statement calling for civil disobedience from Saturday.

The group raised concerns about the spread of murder, drug-dealing, smuggling, and other illegal activities in the city. It did not place blame on any side for the killing however.

Since the beginning of this year, more than 22 killings and attempted killings in Al-Bab and its surroundings have been documented against activists, media and humanitarian workers, and other individuals, according to the director of the Response Coordinators Group in Syria, Muhammad Hallaj.