Kafranbel this week became the latest to be seized in a blistering government onslaught against the last rebel bastion in northwestern Syria.
The Syrian town of Kafranbel was long a symbol of humorous defiance to Damascus, famed for its witty posters, murals and cartoons, so its recapture by regime forces spells a heavy blow, activists say.
The town in Idlib province bordering Turkey was one of the first to join the revolutionary spirit that swept Syria in 2011.
A town of some 20,000 people, Kafranbel stood out among its neighbors for its creative approach to activism.
“I have a dream. Let freedom ring from Kafranbel,” read one sign in 2012 in English, playing on the town’s name and echoing the words of Martin Luther King.
A poster the same year complained of congested skies, and demanded that policemen regulate the traffic of the warplanes overhead.
By 2015, Kafranbel was part of a large region under the control of opposition forces.
Two years later, it was overrun by the jihadists of Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate who still dominate the wider region today.
When extremists tried to ban music, the activist responded by airing clucking chickens.
A first wave of residents fled the town last year, while others held out before joining the exodus over the past few months.
