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Showing posts from September 30, 2012

Omar Khadr leaves Guantánamo to return to Canada

Omar Khadr was 15 when he was captured in 2002 in Afghanistan. The last western detainee held at the Guantánamo Bay US military prison has returned to Canada after a decade in custody and has been transferred to a maximum security prison in Canada where he awaits parole, Canada's public safety minister said Saturday. Vic Toews said that 26-year-old Omar Khadr arrived at a Canadian military base on a US government plane early Saturday and was transferred to the Millhaven maximum security prison in Bath, Ontario. Khadr pleaded guilty in 2010 to killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan and was eligible to return to Canada from Guantánamo last October under terms of a plea deal. Khadr was 15 when he was captured in 2002 in Afghanistan, and has spent a decade at the Guantánamo prison in Cuba – which was set up after 9/11 to hold suspected terrorists. Khadr received an eight-year sentence in 2010 after being convicted of throwing a grenade that killed army sargeant first class Chris

Many Iraq, Afghan vets choosing `second service'

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The link between U.S. military service and running for office is as old as the republic itself. It started with George Washington, who famously wrote that, "When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen." During the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, hundreds of thousands of veterans have come home and laid aside their uniforms. But not all have opted to simply blend back into civilian life. Many have chosen to run for public office. Several dozen veterans - some of them from earlier wars - are vying for U.S. House and Senate seats this year. And many others are seeking state and local offices across the country. Men and women, Republicans and Democrats, they range from well-known hopefuls such as congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth in Illinois, who became a double amputee when her National Guard helicopter was shot down in Iraq, to Arizona state House contender Mark Cardenas, a 25-year-old Iraq vet who remains a National Guardsman.

AT LEAST 13 KILLED IN WAVE OF IRAQ ATTACKS UPDATE: 26 KILLED

Death toll at 19. A wave of bombings and a shooting in Iraq killed at least 13 people and wounded 33 on Sunday, security and medical officials said. Four car bombs exploded in Taji, north of Baghdad, killing at least six people and wounding eight others, an interior ministry official and a medical source said. A car bomb targeting a police convoy killed two police and wounded seven others in Baquba, farther north, while another car bomb exploded near the city, killing one person and wounding seven, a police lieutenant colonel and a medical source said. Gunmen killed a policeman in Baghdad, and a car bomb exploded after a police patrol came to investigate, killing one person and wounding four others, the interior ministry official said, while a medical source put the toll at three dead and four wounded. In Kut, south of Baghdad, a car bomb killed a police captain and a major and wounded seven other people, among them two police, a police captain and a medical source said. So

Arab Electronic Army Launches Wave of Cyber Attacks

A group calling itself the Arab Electronic Army was recently formed to launch cyber attacks in retaliation for the posting of an offensive video on YouTube. "The group is part of the widespread anger over an online video called 'Innocence of Muslims' that has brought protests across as many as 20 countries," writes CSO Online's Antone Gonsalves. "The outrage stems from the film's denigration of the Prophet Muhammad, which is punishable by death in some Arab countries." "One of the hackers, who identified himself as Ridouan (hacker alias RéD-Zàr) from Morocco, wrote in an email sent to Al Arabiya English that the hacking operations were part of a 'campaign to defend Allah’s prophet.' ... Ridouan ... explained that after he proposed the idea of forming an 'electronic army' he received wide support from young Muslim hackers to 'repel all offenses against our religion,'" write Al Arabiya's Mustapha Ajbaili. &q

Anonymous Hackers Target Greek Neo-Nazi Group

Members of Anonymous recently took down the Web site for the New York office of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party, and urged followers to flood the organization's phone lines. "The Twitter account, @YourAnonNews, often used to make announcements for the hacker collective, first publicly posted the phone number connected to the fascist group’s Queens-based office and invited followers to 'give them a warm welcome to the neighborhood,'" writes Salon.com's Natasha Lennard. "A follow up tweet asserted, in characteristically playful parlance, that the hackers had disabled Golden Dawn’s New York chapter website." "GOLDEN DAWN NOT ONLY IS YOUR PHONE LINES TANGO DOWN, BUT UR WEBHOST R BELONG TO US," the second tweet stated. "The members of the Golden Dawn political party have been linked on numerous occasions to crimes against ethnic minorities and immigrants, this most likely being one of the reasons for which Anonymous didn’t we

‘COMBAT GIRLS’ REVIEW: confused Neo Nazi

EastWest Distribution An angry and confused young neo-Nazi on a personal journey that will change their life doesn’t sound like anything we haven’t seen before, except in this case the angry and confused young neo-Nazi is a woman. ‘Combat Girls’ is a unique coming of age story that subverts expectations and transcends beyond the crude lifestyle of its lead to find a beating, raging heart. Marisa is a young, tattooed neo-Nazi whose boyfriend has just been sent to prison and her WWII vet grandfather (and Nazi) is lying on his death bed. Struggling to cope with the sadness, Marisa internalizes her feelings and manufactures them into rage, but when she encounters a poor Pakistani boy in need of help, she can’t ignore her own humanity. With the oppressive presence of her male counterpart locked away and her grandfather slipping out of her life, Marisa begins to slowly emerge from the cocoon of hate that’s been built around her and reaches out to Rasul. The scenes between them where the

Chaos: Greek police send crime victims to neo-Nazi 'protectors'

Far-right Golden Dawn party filling vacuum for those neglected by state after MPs elected to fight 'immigrant scum' Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party is increasingly assuming the role of law enforcement officers on the streets of the bankrupt country, with mounting evidence that Athenians are being openly directed by police to seek help from the neo-Nazi group, analysts, activists and lawyers say. In return, a growing number of Greek crime victims have come to see the party, whose symbol bears an uncanny resemblance to the swastika, as a "protector". One victim of crime, an eloquent US-trained civil servant, told the UK Daily "The Guardian" of her family's shock at being referred to the party when her mother recently called the police following an incident involving Albanian immigrants in their downtown apartment block. "They immediately said if it's an issue with immigrants go to Golden Dawn," said the 38-year-old, who fear

Pressure on Shatter after sixth murder in one week

A BROTHER of two convicted hitmen has been gunned down in his home minutes after collecting his eight-year-old daughter from school. He became the third gangland murder victim in five days as violence returned to the streets with a vengeance. John Wilson, who was the prime suspect for a triple shooting in Dublin two years ago, was shot dead in the hallway of his home yesterday by an attacker who had followed him inside. Last night gardai arrested a man in his thirties and took him to Ballyfermot station for questioning. He was held under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, which means he can be held for seven days without charge. The murder, the sixth in little over a week, will heap further pressure on Justice Minister Alan Shatter to take decisive action against gangs. Gardai believe Wilson (35) was probably killed as part of a feud with a local westside gang involved in drug trafficking. They are also examining other options, including Wilson's involvement in a r

Man held over fatal Dublin shooting

irishtimes.com - Saturday, September 29, 2012, 08:52 The scene where John Wilson (35) was shot and later died at Cloverhill Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, yesterday.Photograph: Aidan Crawley Gardaí have arrested a man in relation to a fatal attack in the Ballyfermot area of suburban Dublin yesterday afternoon. The man, aged in his 30s, was detained last night and is being held under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007, at Ballyfermot Garda station. Gardaí believe the shooting dead of a criminal at his home in the Ballyfermot area of suburban Dublin yesterday is part of an escalating feud in the city between the Real IRA and gangland criminals. The murder was the third gangland killing of the week. While the investigation into the murder of John Wilson (35) is still in its infancy, the main line of inquiry is that it is a revenge murder for the shooting dead of key Real IRA member Alan Ryan four weeks ago. Wilson had collected children from school yesterday and left them

Man held over fatal Dublin shooting

irishtimes.com - Saturday, September 29, 2012, 08:52 The scene where John Wilson (35) was shot and later died at Cloverhill Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, yesterday.Photograph: Aidan Crawley Gardaí have arrested a man in relation to a fatal attack in the Ballyfermot area of suburban Dublin yesterday afternoon. The man, aged in his 30s, was detained last night and is being held under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007, at Ballyfermot Garda station. Gardaí believe the shooting dead of a criminal at his home in the Ballyfermot area of suburban Dublin yesterday is part of an escalating feud in the city between the Real IRA and gangland criminals. The murder was the third gangland killing of the week. While the investigation into the murder of John Wilson (35) is still in its infancy, the main line of inquiry is that it is a revenge murder for the shooting dead of key Real IRA member Alan Ryan four weeks ago. Wilson had collected children from school yesterday and left them

ETA calls for movement on Basque peace process

IN A STATEMENT issued on Thursday, following the annual Day of the Basque Soldier, the armed Basque separatist group, Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA), renewed its calls for a just and lasting peace settlement in the Basque Country. ETA, which has been on ceasefire since 20 October 2011, said it wants to “reaffirm its commitment to overcoming the conflict” and called for more Basque people to become actively involved in left-wing Basque nationalist parties to help push forward towards independence and socialism. The statement hit out at both the Spanish and French governments, saying neither have taken positive steps towards ending the 40-year-old conflict. ETA also condemned what it described as “violence and extreme cruelty” towards imprisoned Basque fighters. ETA says: “The request for Spain and France to give constructive steps and to avoid behaviour that fuels conflict are increasingly louder . . . Peace has to be also the result of the process built in the Basque Country. It

South Ossetia Border Post Fired Upon

A South Ossetian border checkpoint was fired upon Saturday, after which local security forces arrested a Georgian Interior Ministry official, according to local media reports, citing the South Ossetian KGB. The incident occurred around 3:40 a.m. in the Dzausky region of South Ossetia, a self-proclaimed independent breakaway Georgian republic on the Russian border. “As a result of the actions taken on the territory of South Ossetia, not far from the state border, Georgian Interior Ministry official Mogol Tomiashvili, a resident of the Ksuis village, was arrested,” the South Ossetian news agency RES quoted the KGB as saying. South Ossetian forces did not return fire. A rifle and a grenade launcher was reportedly seized from Tomiasvhili. Russia fought a war with Georgia in 2008 over South Ossetia, and the territory remains at the heart of tensions in the Russian-Georgian relationship. Six United Nations member states recognize Abkhazia and five recognize South Ossetia. The Un

South Ossetia Border Post Fired Upon

A South Ossetian border checkpoint was fired upon Saturday, after which local security forces arrested a Georgian Interior Ministry official, according to local media reports, citing the South Ossetian KGB. The incident occurred around 3:40 a.m. in the Dzausky region of South Ossetia, a self-proclaimed independent breakaway Georgian republic on the Russian border. “As a result of the actions taken on the territory of South Ossetia, not far from the state border, Georgian Interior Ministry official Mogol Tomiashvili, a resident of the Ksuis village, was arrested,” the South Ossetian news agency RES quoted the KGB as saying. South Ossetian forces did not return fire. A rifle and a grenade launcher was reportedly seized from Tomiasvhili. Russia fought a war with Georgia in 2008 over South Ossetia, and the territory remains at the heart of tensions in the Russian-Georgian relationship. Six United Nations member states recognize Abkhazia and five recognize South Ossetia. The Un

Dagestani Head attends the grand opening of "Caucasian games" Festival

Makhachkala, September 29, 2012. The administrative center of Kabardino-Balkaria - Nalchik hosts the interregional festival "Caucasian Games 2012." The opening ceremony has been attended by the deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the North Caucasian Federal District Alexander Khloponin and the regional governors. Dagestan delegation is led by the Head of the republic Magomedsalam Magomedov. The ceremony, which started at the stadium "Spartak" began with a performance of masters of arts from Kabardino-Balkaria and North Caucasian republics. In this part, Dagestan has been represented by the State Academic Ensemble "Lezginka". After the brilliant and spectacular musical performance, the President of KBR Arsen Kanokov and the deputy Sports Minister Yuri Gorny addressed the participants and guests of the festival with a greeting speech. Both speakers noted the role and importance of the festival in strengthening friendship and good-neighborly

Soldiers of the Caliphate not based in Afghanistan, linked with N. Caucasus - experts

Religion Alma-Ata, September 28, Interfax - U.S. experts have concluded that the Soldiers of the Caliphate radical group, which claimed responsibility for last year's terrorist attack in Atyrau, Kazakhstan, and a shootout in Boralday, is not based in Afghanistan, Kazakh political scientist Yerlan Karin said. "Just a few days ago I received a report from my American colleagues, who scrupulously analyzed the text of leaflets and messages from Soldiers of the Caliphate. Theologians, religious scholars and analysts worked with them. They came to the conclusion that the people acting on behalf of this group are highly unlikely to have their base in Afghanistan. The slogans they use are close to those of radical groups from the North Caucasus. The Soldiers is evidently a small branch of the so-called North Caucasus Emirate," Karin said in an interview with the Central Asian Monitor newspaper published on Friday. "It is obviously true, especially as the Soldiers'

Bosnian Serb Officers Covered Up Fatalities – Witness

28 Sep 12 A veteran soldier who served briefly in the Bosnian Serb Army testified this week that his superiors knew 800 Bosniaks had been killed during the capture of the northeastern town of Kozarac, yet they greatly understated the number in a report to army headquarters. Osman Selak, a prosecution witness in the trial of Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic, is a Bosniak who joined the Yugoslav People’s Army, JNA, in 1955 and was still serving when the force was disbanded in May 1992, shortly after war broke out in Bosnia. In Bosnia, JNA personnel and equipment went to form the Bosnian Serb Army or VRS, and units were simply renamed to reflect the change, Selak said. The witness said he asked to retire because he knew that “some negative activities would ensue”, and was aware of media pressure for non-Serbs to leave the new army. However, his request was not approved until July 1992, and in the meantime he remained a commander for logistics in the Banja Luka area of comm

Caucasus Terrorists Growing Younger

The average age of newly recruited Islamic militants in the North Caucasus in on a constant decrease, with more and more teens joining terrorists’ ranks, a presidential envoy said on Saturday. “These days, the insurgency is already drawing on 17- to 18-year-old boys, fresh out of school,” said Alexander Khloponin, the Kremlin’s envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District. In 2008, the average age of militants killed in the North Caucasus stood between 19 and 23 years, according to official data. Though the law enforcements have eliminated many terrorist leaders in recent years, the insurgency’s recruiting system is still functioning, thriving on the youth who have “not yet sorted out their feelings,” Khloponin said, speaking at a youth festival in Kabardino-Balkaria’s capital Nalchik. Source http://en.ria.ru/russia/20120929/176306017.html

New army chief plead for vigilance vs rebel group’s threats, extortion

MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon, Sept 29 (PIA) -- The new commander of the 403rd Infantry “Peacemaker” Brigade has appealed for vigilance and public cooperation against threats and extortion activities of rebels in Bukidnon. Col. James V. Jacob reported in a Provincial Peace and Order Council Meeting that some 50 armed men of the New People’s Army (NPA) under Guerilla Front 53 flagged down and burned five prime mover trucks loaded with bananas at the national road in Barangay Puntian, Quezon in Bukidnon last June. Two of the trucks were from the Red Bull Trucking Company while three were from the Sumifro Trucking. Early this September, a Boom Spray Truck and Water Tanker Truck owned by Davao Agri Venture Corporation (Davco) were also burned by unidentified group at Barangay Mirangiran, Quezon, Bukidnon. Jacob said these groups’ extortion activity is a big threat to the province where vast fruit and dairy farms flourish. He said that the recent series of burning incidents in Quezon

Army overruns rebels’ camp

Saturday, September 29, 2012 KIDAPAWAN CITY - A chance encounter with a group of New People's Army (NPA) rebels on Wednesday in a remote village in Makilala town in North Cotabato led to the discovery of a rebel camp. Lieutenant Nasrullah Sema, chief of the civil-military operations of the Army's 57th Infantry Battalion, said their men were conducting patrol operations when they encountered a group NPA rebels along the boundary of Barangays Rodero and Santo Nino, both in Makilala, around 6 p.m. on Wednesday. In the encounter with the rebels, Army troopers also chanced a rebel enclave that could accommodate at least 30 rebels. The encampment was proof that the rebels had stayed in the area for two days. "This enclave has confirmed the reports or information we gathered from our sources in the area that, indeed, the rebels had been massing in troops in Barangay Rodero," Sema said. A certain Galna, spokesperson for the NPA Front 72, said their men also conducte

Nigeria, Saudi ministers meet to resolve hajj dispute

Abuja: Nigeria and Saudi Arabia held high level talks on Saturday to resolve diplomatic tensions generated by Riyadh's decision to deport 1,000 Nigerian women hajj pilgrims who were not accompanied by male guardians. Nigeria retaliated yesterday to the move by stopping all hajj flights to Saudi Arabia. Nigeria's minister of foreign affairs, Olugbenga Ashiru and Saudi Arabia's acting minister of foreign affairs, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz met in Washington and the former registered his protest to the Saudi move. Ashiru told PTI on phone from New York that he used the meeting to register Nigeria's strong objection to the treatment meted out to many Nigerian female pilgrims, who after fulfilling the visa requirements were denied entry into Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj. The meeting came after the dispute escalated following Nigeria's move to stop all hajj flights in what was seen as a retaliatory step that could affect Saudi Arabia's tour

Syria: Troops kill 22 armed men in Aleppo

Damascus: A total of 22 gunmen were killed on Saturday in clashes with government troops in Syria's northern province of Aleppo, the state-run SANA news agency said. The clashes took place at Tal Zarazir in Aleppo, SANA reported, adding that the troops also dealt deadly blows to armed insurgents at Wadihi and Kafr Dael in Aleppo, once a bastion of support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Aleppo, a city of three million, has emerged as a key battleground in Syria's civil war. The clashes there hit a new high after rebels announced Thursday the start of "decisive battle." SANA said the Army has been dealing deadly blows to the armed militias in Aleppo, adding that scores are being killed on daily basis. Source http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/syria-troops-kill-22-armed-men-in-aleppo_802716.html

Italy: 4 journalists detained in Cuba

Milan: The Italian Foreign Ministry says four journalists have been detained in Cuba. The journalists work for the Mediaset TV network, the Messaggero Veneto daily and two for the Milan daily Corriere della Sera. The Messagero Veneto said the journalists had traveled to Cuba to follow up on a double murder, seeking interviews with a Cuban who had been living in Italy and whose sister has been detained in the case. He denied in an interview with the daily any involvement by himself or his sister. The Messaggero Veneto said on its website today that its correspondent faced a hearing later today. The newspaper said that the four had entered the country with tourist visas and were stopped when because they were working as journalists. PTI Source http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/italy-4-journalists-detained-in-cuba_802726.html

Imprisoned Tymoshenko makes video appeal

Kiev: Ukraine's jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko urged her country on Saturday to defeat President Viktor Yanukovych's party in next month's parliamentary election. In an emotional video appeal, Tymoshenko accused Yanukovych of turning Ukraine into a "police state." Her lawyer says the video, filmed yesterday, was recorded by him on a cellphone in a hospital where she is receiving treatment for back pain. It was the first such video since the former prime minister was jailed over a year ago on charges of abusing her office during natural gas import negotiations with Russia in 2009. The West has condemned her imprisonment as politically motivated and the European Union has put on hold a key cooperation deal with Kiev over Tymoshenko's jailing. Tymoshenko, 51, the country's top opposition leader, denies all the charges against her, and accuses Yanukovych of throwing her in jail to bar her from the contesting the Oct. 28 election. In t

Deal to keep troops in Tajikistan in 2013: Russia

Moscow: A top Russian general said on Saturday that Moscow expects to secure a deal to extend Russian military presence in the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan by the first half of 2013. Russia's ground forces commander Vladimir Chirkin said in an interview on Ekho Mosky radio station that outstanding issues on the terms of the deal will continue to be discussed with Tajikistan until the end of March. Some 7,000 Russian soldiers are posted across three garrisons in Tajikistan, which is a major transit point on the northbound trafficking route for Afghan heroin. Tajikistan and other ex-Soviet neighbours of Afghanistan fear a spillover of violence in the event of a renewed outbreak of civil conflict after the NATO coalition's withdrawal in 2014. An agreement to extend the current lease, which expires in 2014, has been delayed amid reported disagreements about the financial terms. Chirkin said the Russian troops would work in a coalition with local forces, something tha

Odisha: Six Maoists arrested, explosives seized

Nabarangpur/Berhampur: Security personnel arrested six ultras belonging to different Maoist outfits in Odisha's Nabarangpur and Ganjam districts, police said on Saturday. While the police in Nabarangpur district arrested Prafulla Kumar Chetti (32) of Hatbharandi, K Suresh Patnaik (26) and Manoj Dakua (26), both belong to Raighar area last night, Ganjam police nabbed Sanjiv Nayak, Debendra Nayak and his younger brother Madan of Balinala village under Badagada police station limits. The police also seized explosive materials from the three arrested Maoists in Nabarangpur. "Police have seized 6.3 kg of explosive, cash of Rs 63,000, five mobile phones, Maoist literatures and banners from the arrested trio," said Nabarangpur SP, Brajesh Ray adding that the three Maoists were caught by police while they were at the bus stand in morning here yesterday. DSP Udhav Naik said the police had prior information about the three Maoists. They were part of the Maoist outfit activ

Chhattisgarh cops injured in Maoist attack on camp

Maoists opened fire on Saturday at a police base camp in an interior area in Chhattisgarh's violence-hit Sukma district injuring two policemen, officials said. The heavily-armed guerrillas, estimated to be in dozens, sprayed bullets on the Chhattisgarh Armed Forces (CAF) camp which is located at Timmalwada village under Chintagufa police station, some 500 km south of state capital Raipur. "The policemen were stunned by the attack. Two cops were hit by bullets," Lakhan Patle, sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP), told IANS over phone. He stated that the stunned policemen, who belong to CAF's 9th battalion, retaliated strongly to the rebels' attack in which a few guerrillas were reportedly injured. Officials said that the two injured policemen were airlifted from base camp to Jagdalpur, headquarters of the Bastar region, for urgent medical attention. The condition of the injured was stated to be critical. Source http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Chha

Chhattisgarh cops injured in Maoist attack on camp

Maoists opened fire on Saturday at a police base camp in an interior area in Chhattisgarh's violence-hit Sukma district injuring two policemen, officials said. The heavily-armed guerrillas, estimated to be in dozens, sprayed bullets on the Chhattisgarh Armed Forces (CAF) camp which is located at Timmalwada village under Chintagufa police station, some 500 km south of state capital Raipur. "The policemen were stunned by the attack. Two cops were hit by bullets," Lakhan Patle, sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP), told IANS over phone. He stated that the stunned policemen, who belong to CAF's 9th battalion, retaliated strongly to the rebels' attack in which a few guerrillas were reportedly injured. Officials said that the two injured policemen were airlifted from base camp to Jagdalpur, headquarters of the Bastar region, for urgent medical attention. The condition of the injured was stated to be critical. Source http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Chha

Maoist atrocities: 2 locals killed in Hajipur

Hajipur, Sep 29 (ANI): Continuing with their atrocities, Maoists in Hajipur, Bihar have killed two persons a village body head named Umesh Singh and his son Kunal Singh. According to the villagers, Maoists took Singh as a police informant and shot him dead. Senior police officials inspected the area and an enquiry is being conducted in the matter. Inspector General of Police, Gupteshwar Pandey said that Maoists are intensifying their activities in the area. Maoists have left a pamphlet, warning locals against informing police. Since few years, the rebels have stepped up their efforts against the government, targeting and damaging democratic and civil institutions of the nation, such as schools, medical centres and government property. Source http://www.indiablooms.com/VideoDetails/2012/videoDetails290912x1.php

PKK Critical of Syrian Rebels

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) has been criticized by supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of not being able to protect civilians. But the Kurds are lucky that President Bashar al-Assad has refrained from deploying the same tactics against them that he used in Aleppo, Hama or Homs. Nobody knows if this was part of a deal, or if Assad is too occupied with the rest of Syria. PKK supporters in Syria are mostly critical of the FSA and the help they receive from Turkey; they fear that Turkey could use the FSA against them in the future. Furthermore, they do not like the Islamist background of most of the Syrian rebels. Therefore, they criticize the FSA for not being able to protect civilians, despite the fact that the PKK rebels also could not do much when the Turkish army forcefully displaced Kurdish villagers in the 1980s and 1990s, or when the Turkish state imprisons hundreds of PKK supporters. According to Chinese Marxist leader Mao Zedong, guerrillas must “move amongst