Fears are mounting for Syrian human rights lawyer Khalil Matouk, who has been held incommunicado at an unknown location since his arrest last October, an independent human rights organisation has told the Gazette.

A spokesman for the Gulf Center for Human Rights said armed men in civilian clothing detained the lawyer while he was en route to his office in Damascus.

Matouk is a prominent human rights lawyer within Syria, where he is known for his work at the Syrian Centre for Legal Studies and Research.

Over the past two years, at least 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict in Syria, with some 2.5 million displaced.