Armed men last night entered the home of former diplomat, Noureddine al-Labbad, in the town of Al-Sanamayn, some 50km south of Damascus, opening fire on him and his brother before fleeing, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based monitor said Labbad had returned to Syria two weeks earlier from France, where he had represented the opposition’s Syrian National Coalition after having served as a diplomat under Assad.

He had defected from the foreign ministry service in 2013.

Security forces declared a curfew in the town after cars were set alight and grenades were set off following the attack, an AFP journalist said.

But by the morning it had been lifted with traffic gradually resuming.

Videos shared on Telegram by Syrian security forces show gunmen entering what was described as Labbad’s home.

No further details were available regarding the killing of the former diplomat, but there have been frequent incidents involving tribal violence or acts of revenge in the past months, particularly since Assad’s ouster in December.