Northern Syria was rocked on Sunday by the assassination of prominent former rebel commander Alaa al-Din Ayoub, widely known as Farouq Abu Bakr. The attack, carried out by unidentified gunmen in the city of Azaz near Aleppo, has sparked outrage among local communities and vows of swift justice from Syrian opposition authorities.
According to local reports, Abu Bakr was gunned down in his car near the campus of Free Aleppo University shortly after leaving an exam hall. Images circulated online showed him lying in a pool of blood inside his vehicle.
In a statement on Facebook, Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs Abdel Qader Tahan condemned the killing as a “heinous crime in every moral sense,” describing Abu Bakr as a “fighter and revolutionary since the earliest days of the Syrian uprising.” Tahan vowed that “the perpetrators will not escape accountability.”
A Controversial but Influential Figure
Abu Bakr was one of the most recognized figures of the armed opposition. Arrested early in the uprising by Syrian Air Force Intelligence, he later joined the armed struggle in Aleppo, first with the Musab bin Umair Battalion, which merged into Liwa al-Abbas. He went on to co-found the Islamic Dawn Movement (Harakat al-Fajr), which later became part of Ahrar al-Sham.
He gained prominence in 2014 as the opposition’s lead negotiator on prisoner exchanges and played a central role during the 2016 siege of Aleppo, representing rebel factions in talks with the Assad regime. His name was closely tied to the controversial evacuation deal that allowed thousands of fighters and civilians to leave eastern Aleppo in December 2016.
After his displacement to Idlib, Abu Bakr remained active with Ahrar al-Sham before splitting in 2018 to join the Turkish-backed Mutasim Division of the Syrian National Army.
Shadows of Rivalry
Despite his reputation as a skilled negotiator, Abu Bakr’s career was marred by internal disputes. He faced accusations of involvement in an attack on a Mutasim Division headquarters in Akhtarin, leading him to surrender briefly to military police in Kafr Jannah before being released. Supporters insisted he was the target of a deliberate plot to sideline him in favor of rivals.
A Shocking Loss
For many in the opposition, Abu Bakr’s killing is not only a personal tragedy but also a blow to a movement already weakened by years of fragmentation and infighting. With tensions running high, the Interior Ministry’s promise of retribution has raised questions over whether the perpetrators will ever be identified in a region rife with competing militias, shadowy networks, and regional rivalries.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
