Former Syrian Government Dissident Assassinated in Southern Syria
Former Syrian ambassador Noureddine al-Labbad and his brother Imad al-Labbad were killed in their home in the southern Syrian city of al-Sanamayn by unknown assailants.
Noureddine al-Labbad was born in al-Sanamayn in 1962. He held a doctorate in French literature from Damascus University, a higher diploma in translation, and a master’s degree in international relations from Sorbonne University in Paris. He had previously served in Syrian embassies in Sanaa, Paris, Baghdad, Ankara, and Benghazi.
Al-Labbad defected from the Syrian government during the Syrian war in 2013 and moved to France, where he became an anti-regime dissident. He was one of the first Syrian diplomats to defect from the government during that period.
Two weeks ago, he returned to his hometown of al-Sanamayn but was assassinated by unknown assailants shortly after his arrival. His assassination marks the first killing of a former government dissident under the new Syrian government.
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