SV: {UAH} British volunteer fighter Oliver Hall dies in Syria

Okello DOKOLO,

Please do not conceal the genocides those continued to be committed by both the British and the Americans abroad. Why have they not some few weeks ago not stood behind the Kurds those had done a referendum for their independence if they have sympathy for the Kurdish folks who sacrificed heavily in human blood to defeat the ISIS?

Brutally, in Africa both British and America stood behind the Apartheid regime in former Southern African region whereby British and American troops participated in massacring Africans in large numbers! The question is, why did they not condemned the actions of their troops in Africa those were supporting Apartheid regime in the Southern African region?

Please Okello DOKOLO stop your politics of being cleaner because you are resident in the UK like your friend Bishop Sentamu who is just excited for nothing! I think, the British are wrong and hypocrites of the high order!

 

Ocaya

Den torsdag, 30 november 2017 17:01 skrev Bobby Alcantara <bobbyalcantara94@gmail.com>:

Frank Mujabi/ Michael Ocaya p'Ocure,

I think the UK government turns a blind eye to the young men who have joined the Kurdish cause. In many ways, I think the UK is sympathetic to the Kurds. It is afterall, the cause of the current situation where the Kurds have no homeland to call their own. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the geographical and geopolitical realignment of the Middle East saw the KUrds carved up and given to the new countries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. This served the intersts of the British Empire, but created new problems for the future. The Kurdish question is one of those hot potatoes that the Brtiish Empire still has holding in its hands, the other being the Palestine,also partitioned and given to various new states int he region, the bulk being colonised by Israel. Secondly, Kurds have a lot of sympathy within the UK political class. The Kurdish struggle is largely for national self-determination and has very little to do with religion. In fact the YPG are mainly socialist in leaning

 

On the other hand, the UK is fundamentally opposed to ISIS for obvious reasons.  Isis is an Islamist movement that threatens everything that the UK stands for. It is a criminal organisation, which is proscribed by law in the UK- but the Kurdish group is not proscribed

 

But the other point you have to note is the UK public is generally very supportive of struggles of oppressed peoples around the world, and the Kurds fall into this category. But there is a total and complete revulsion towards anything Islamic in the UK- because of the barbaric nature many of the Islamic struggles often take. No one wants to be associated with blood-soaked barbarians like Isis, Al Qaeda and their offshoots or franchises around the world.

 

Please also note British people are sometimes idealistic- and tend to take on foreign causes. I give an example o the Spanish Civil War, in which hundreds British  volunteers joined other volunteers in what became known as the International Brigades to fight in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republicans. This was the first time in history where communists from more than 50 countries in the world, including from Uganda, travelled long distances to Spain to fight for an ideal.

The  Spanish Republicans made this emotive world-wide appeal for help and the effect was electric: 

 

"Workers and anti-Fascists of all lands. We the workers of Spain are poor but we are pursuing a noble ideal. Our fight is your fight. Our victory is the victory of Liberty. Men and women of all lands! Come to our aid. Arms for Spain!"

When this appeal went out, and especially when pictures began to emerge of the ruthlessness and barbarity of General Franco,  thousands of communists from America and from allover Europe gave up whatever they were doing in order to pick up arms and rush to Spain

 

In the UK a poll showed that out of 105 journalists and writers only five supported Franco whereas 100 wanted the Republicans to win.

 

The driving force behind British volunteers was support for communism. Nat Cohen and Sam Masters were the first two British volunteers to aid the Republicans and both were communists. The first British national to actually join in the fighting was a student from Cambridge called John Cornford. He too was a communist. The first UK volunteer to die in the conflict was a communist called Felicia Brown who died on August 25th1936.

 If I was born at the time, I probably would have joined them. It is an example rarely  repeated today. 

Bobby

 

Read their story below:

The International Brigade

Citation: C N Trueman "The International Brigade"
historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 25 May 2015. 30 Nov 2017.

 

The International Brigade

The International Brigade is an umbrella term given to numerous groups that arrived in Spain to help the Republican cause – the overthrow of the Nationalist attempt to take over the country. Members of the International Brigade came from numerous countries – Great Britain, France, theUSSR, and the former Yugoslavia for instance. However, while they may have had the same desire, the International Brigade was a collection of mainly men who had no loyalty to other groups within the International Brigade and followed no other leader than their own. Whether as a unified and cohesive force the International Brigade could have made any difference to the final outcome of the Spanish Civil War is open to conjecture.

 

The state of Europe as a whole presented individuals with an incentive to do their bit to help the Republicans. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany had made it very clear where their loyalties were while the USSR led by Stalin had done likewise with the Republican movement. To Hitler andMussolini the attempt by the Republicans to take over Spain was nothing more than an attempt to further expand the spread of communism.

 

 "We must prevent communism from establishing itself in the Mediterranean." (Mussolini).

 

"We must save Spain from Bolshevism." (Hitler)

 

In August 1936 the British government announced that it believed that no other country should send aid to Spain. Her fear was that such a move would escalate the situation possibly into a full-scale European war. A Non-Intervention Committee met in London with representatives from Germany, Italy, France and the USSR present. The USSR had left the committee in October 1936 while Germany and Italy left the committee in June 1937. It soon became obvious that certain nations were supplying the Republicans or Nationalists with weapons but not manpower. The USSR sent so much aid that Largo Caballero was forced to send £63,256,684 gold reserves to Moscow to pay for the aid.

 

Stalin had already sent artillery experts to Spain to help and advise the Republicans but had warned them to "stay out of range of artillery fire." But any help was piecemeal and not enough to help the Republicans.

 

When it seemed as if Franco was having success, the Republicans put out calls such as:

 

"Workers and anti-Fascists of all lands. We the workers of pain are poor but we are pursuing a noble ideal. Our fight is your fight. Our victory is the victory of Liberty. Men and women of all lands! Come to our aid. Arms for Spain!"

 

In the UK a poll showed that out of 105 journalists and writers only five supported Franco whereas 100 wanted the Republicans to win.

 

The driving force behind British volunteers was support for communism. Nat Cohen and Sam Masters were the first two British volunteers to aid the Republicans and both were communists. The first British national to actually join in the fighting was a student from Cambridge called John Cornford. He too was a communist. The first UK volunteer to die in the conflict was a communist called Felicia Brown who died on August 25th1936.

 

Members of what became known as the International Brigade crossed the French/Spanish border on what was known as the 'secret railway'. The first unit of the International Brigade was organised by Joseph Broz (later Marshal Tito) from an office in Paris. He sent 500 volunteers to Albacete via the 'secret railway' on Train 77. The 500 were commanded by Lazar Stern. Other ways were found to cross into Spain over the Pyrenees that did not involve the use of trains. Members of the International Brigade came primarily from Britain, France, USA and the USSR. Volunteers also arrived in Spain from Italy and Germany to help the Nationalists.

 

One Republican leader made clear where he felt the International Brigade was failing. Andre Marty, the commander of the Albacete training camp asked the question "Why aren't the volunteers achieving much?" Marty answered his own question.

 

"Is it because they have lacked enthusiasm? A thousand times no. Is it because they have lacked courage? I say tem thousand times no. There are three things they have lacked, three things which we must have – political unity, military leaders and discipline."

 

A unit from the International Brigade entered Madrid on November 8th 1936. When they needed to be moved around the city they were moved via double-decker buses.

 

In October 1936, nine merchant ships from the USSR arrived in Spain carrying equipment. One unloaded 25 tanks and 1500 tons of ammunition. However, the training of the International Brigade had not extended to the use of tanks in warfare. The tanks were first used on October 29th when they smashed their way through Nationalist positions. However, there was no infantry available to support the tanks and their fought Nationalist cavalry in the streets of Esquivias by themselves and ended up having to retreat.

 

The support of Stalin worried Hitler who sent to Spain what became known as the Condor Legion.

 

Units of the International Brigade were used in the Battle for Madrid. In the initial stages of battle for the capital city, the Nationalists had done well. The International Brigade units were used to launch a counter-attack against them around Carabanchel. They charged under the cry of:

 

"For the Revolution and Liberty – Forward."

 

When the fighting had died down 24 hours later, a third of the International Brigade had been killed. Squabbles had taken place between members of the Anarchists in the International Brigade and other units. The Anarchists would not take orders from anyone else other than an Anarchist. With such division the Nationalists found it easier to take part of the city around University City. Such issues came to characterise the International Brigade. While guarding a strategic bridge near the junction of the rivers Jarama and Manzanares, members of the International Brigade placed explosive charges under the bridge to ensure that if there was a danger that they would lose control of it, they could destroy it and ensure that the Nationalists could not use it. When the explosives were detonated the bridge rose a few feet in the air and then came back down on its supports once again. A French unit around the bridge was wiped out by Nationalists who had poured over the bridge.

 

In total it is thought that as many as 32,000 to 35,000 actually fought in combat for the International Brigade with another 10,000 in a non-combatant role. Over 9,900 were killed and just over 7,500 wounded in action. Volunteers came from all over the world including Mexico and Estonia.

 

 

On 30 November 2017 at 14:01, 'Ocaya Mike pOcure' via Ugandans at Heart (UAH) Community <ugandans-at-heart@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Mw MUJABI,

This is pure hypocrisy by both UK and USA political policies. How about thier citizens those continued to go to ISRAEL to murder the Palestinians since 1948? Again, they created the lies to kill both Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi with their own countries both Iraq and Libya!

Ocaya pOcure

Den torsdag, 30 november 2017 14:27 skrev Frank Mujabi <frank.mujabi21@gmail.com>:

Bobby

Why does the British govt allow young Britons to go to fight for the Kurds, but then not allow those who want to go to fight for ISIS?

Or are the pro Kurd fighters also outside the law ?

So if British men are free to fight in foreign wars, how do they justify killing and imprisoning those on the ISIS side ?

Please explain.

On 30 Nov 2017 12:23, "Bobby Alcantara" <bobbyalcantara94@gmail.com> wrote:

Frank Mujabi/ Afuwa Kasule/ Mayimuna,/ Edward Mo Irundrua

Here is another British casualty in the war in the Middle East. I think it brings the number of deaths to 7 of UK volunteers who have died fighting against ISIS. A majority of these young men are recruited from communist or socialist organisations like the Socialist Worker's Party. I attend some of their meetings, and they now  define the key dangers facing the world and human civilIIsation as being 1. FASCISM  2. RADICAL ISLAM. 3. GLOBAL CAPITALISM. They are not mercenaries fighting for money- they are very young men driven by ideals, who are willing to sacrifice their lives for a cause. I often tell them to leave the fighting to the citizens of these oppressed countries- foreign volunteers should only give political and moral support- they must not do the fighting for us- ., But that has not deterred a few from volunteering.

Bobby

British volunteer fighter Oliver Hall dies in Syria

By Emma VardyBBC News

• 43 minutes ago

 

• From the sectionUK

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Image copyrightFACEBOOKImage captionOliver Hall had travelled to Syria in August to fight against so-called Islamic State

A 24-year-old British man has been killed in Syria, the BBC understands.

Oliver Hall, from the Portsmouth area, joined Kurdish armed groups to fight against so-called Islamic State.

Another British fighter described him as a "lovely lad" who was "excited to be there".

Kurdish sources say Mr Hall was killed on 25 November while clearing mines in Raqqa. He is the seventh British man to have been killed in Syria with the Kurdish-led group the YPG.

In a video recorded by the YPG to be released in the event of his death, he said: "I came here of my own free will, knowing the risks and consequences that can follow.

"Greetings to all my family and friends, if unfortunately you are seeing this. Biji Kurdistan (long live Kurdistan)."

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Kurdish representatives in London said Mr Hall was killed while "clearing and dismantling mines".

He had no prior military training before travelling to the conflict in August.

Kevin Benton, an ex-soldier and British volunteer who met Mr Hall in Syria, said: "He was so willing to learn, always asking questions and taking everything in. He wanted to stop Isis."

'Sadly missed'

There have been a series of deaths in recent months - Mr Hall is the fourth British volunteer fighter killed in the Raqqa operation since July.

He travelled to Iraq then crossed the border into Syria, according to friends, where he attended the training academy of the Kurdish armed units the YPG, known as the People's Protection Units.

After two weeks of military training Mr Hall joined a newly formed unit within the YPG made up of international volunteers from Britain and the US.

Image copyrightYPG MEDIAImage captionOliver Hall is thought to be the seventh Briton working with the YPG to have been killed

"I spoke to him last week just to see how he was doing, he seemed happy," Mr Benton said.

"He wasn't a soldier before he came to Syria, but he was professional and was really keen to learn. He was a very popular guy, everyone liked him"

"He wanted to be at the front, and wanted to be right where the action was, and he wasn't scared to go.

"He will be sadly missed."

The Kurdish-led YPG are part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces who have been fighting against Islamic State, assisted by airstrikes carried out by the international coalition.

In October there were scenes of celebration among SDF fighters as the battle for the IS capital Raqqa came to an end.

However, many bombs and explosive booby traps have been left around the city.

The YPG is not a proscribed group in the UK, but British authorities have warned that anyone fighting abroad with armed groups risks breaking counter-terror laws.

Authorities have issued repeated statements aimed at deterring people from travelling to Syria.

Many British volunteers who have spent time with Kurdish armed groups in Syria have been arrested and investigated by police on their return to the UK.

A statement from the Kurdish Solidarity Campaign in the UK said: "Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Ollie Hall at this time.

"Ollie's family have requested that they are left alone by the media for now to be able to process this shocking and tragic news."

The British Foreign office has not commented.

Britons killed in Syria

Mr Hall's death brings the total number of Britons killed while fighting for the YPG in Syria to seven.

Jac Holmes: A 24-year-old former IT worker from Bournemouth, Mr Holmes died while attempting to clear landmines in the city of Raqqa.

Mehmet Aksoy: The 32-year-old British film-maker from London was killed in September 2017, after travelling to Syria in June.

Luke Rutter: The 22-year-old from Birkenhead, in Merseyside, was killed in June 2017 after his regiment were ambushed by IS forces in Raqqa.

Ryan Lock: A 20-year-old former chef from Chichester, Mr Lock died in December 2016 after turning his gun on himself to avoid capture.

Dean Carl Evans: The 22-year-old from Reading died in July 2016, while fighting in the city of Manjib.

Konstandinos Erik Scurfield: The 25-year-old ex-Royal Marine, from South Yorkshire, died in 2015 to become the first Briton killed while fighting against IS in Syria.

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Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@ googlegroups.com

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Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com