You Must Read This: Syrian refugee's astonishing story of survival

By James Reynolds BBC News in southern Turkey

Mohammed Ali says he was shot five times, and the bullets are still in his body

Mohammed Ali works at a petrol station in southern Turkey. The job is dreary, customers barely notice him.

But the man selling crisps has one of the most astonishing stories of the Syrian conflict.
It's impossible to verify his account independently - as is the case with stories given by refugees who have to flee their homes on their own without documents or photographs.
During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in August 2012, he says he decided to travel from Beirut - where he was working at the time - to visit his family in a village in northern Syria.
One day he needed supplies, so he headed to the city of Aleppo.
"I went there to buy a mobile phone Sim card," he recalls.
"I was stopped at a checkpoint. The (pro-government) gunmen asked me where I was from. They asked for my passport and ID. They took everything I had on me: my phones, my gold rings. They put me in the boot of a car - four other guys were already in it. And they took us to an air force intelligence building.

"In Islam we believe that no-one dies before their time. Perhaps this wasn't my time to die”

          Mohammed Ali

After three days with no food or water, late at night, the gunmen told us that they would take us to another station. They took us and they put all of us into a car - there were 21 of us. They drove us to a deserted area."

Second life Mohammed peeked from his blindfold.
"They put us all on our knees - all 21 of us. They began firing. I passed out when they shot at us. I woke up after 10-15 minutes and saw the gunmen's car leaving. I saw that everybody around me was dead."
Mohammed was seriously injured.
"I was hit by five bullets," he says, pointing to each of the wounds in turn. "One of them hit my ear, one went into my shoulder. Two hit in my leg, and another hit my hip."
He rolls up his trouser leg to show the wounds in his ankle.
"I got up and started walking but kept falling every 10 metres. I knocked on a door and a woman answered and said: 'There is no-one else here - try the other house.'
"Four guys opened the door - I was scared of saying I was shot by intelligence forces - in case they worked for the regime. So I told them that some people shot me and took all my money.
"They asked: 'Where do you want us to take you?' I said: 'Anywhere, I've been bleeding for the last two hours.'"
Mohammed was taken to hospital. After he recovered, he smuggled himself across the border into Turkey where he now struggles to support himself.
Before the war, he got well-paid work as a tailor. Now he and sleeps on a mattress on the floor in a room next to the checkout till of the petrol station. The bedroom doesn't even have a chair.
"There is no plan now," he says. He wants to go back into making clothes, but needs documents to prove his identity.
He now has plenty of time to reflect on some haunting questions: what should he do with his second life? Why did he survive when 20 others around him all died ?
"I don't know," he smiles shyly. "Perhaps it's because I was able to withstand the gunfire. In Islam we believe that no-one dies before their time. Perhaps this wasn't my time to die."

Kurdish PKK co-founder Sakine Cansiz shot dead in Paris

 

Sakine Cansiz was one of about 20 Kurdish activists who founded the PKK

Three Kurdish women activists - including a co-founder of the militant separatist PKK - have been found dead with gunshot wounds in a Kurdish information centre in Paris.

The bodies of Sakine Cansiz and two others were found on Thursday.
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said the killings were "intolerable".
The motive for the shootings is unclear. Some 40,000 people have died in the 25-year conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK.
However, Turkey has recently begun talks with the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, with the aim of persuading the group to disarm.
Locked doors

Who were the victims?

• Sakine Cansiz: Founding member of the PKK, and first senior female member of the organisation; while jailed, led Kurdish protest movement out of Diyarbakir prison in Turkey in 1980s; after being released, worked with PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in Syria; was a commander of the women's guerrilla movement in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq; later took a lower profile and became responsible for the PKK women's movement in Europe
• Fidan Dogan: Paris representative of the Brussels-based Kurdistan National Congress (KNC) political group; responsible for lobbying the EU and diplomats on behalf the PKK via the KNC
• Leyla Soylemez: Junior activist working on diplomatic relations and as a women's representative on behalf of the PKK

The three women were last seen inside the information centre of the Kurdish institute on Wednesday afternoon. A member of the Kurdish community tried to visit the centre but found the doors were locked.

Their bodies - all three bearing gunshot wounds - were found in the early hours on Thursday.
Along with Ms Cansiz, a second woman has been named as Fidan Dogan, 32, who worked in the information centre. She was also the Paris representative of the Brussels-based Kurdistan National Congress.

The BBC's Christian Fraser: "Apparently the doors of the institute had been locked - when police forced their way in at 2am this morning they found the three bodies"

The third, named as Leyla Soylemez, was a young activist.
Members of the Kurdish community demonstrated outside the information centre as Mr Valls arrived.
The three women were "undoubtedly [summarily] executed", Mr Valls said, adding that the French authorities were determined to "shed light on this act".
"In this neighbourhood, in this Kurdish information centre, in the 10th arrondissement [district] where many Kurds live, I also came to express my sympathy to the relatives and close friends of these three women," he said.
A representative of the Federation of Kurdish Assocations in France (Feyka), Leon Edart, told the French BFM news channel that there were no CCTV cameras in the office.
The PKK took up arms in 1984, and demands greater autonomy for Turkey's Kurds, who are thought to comprise up to 20% of the population.
It is regarded by Turkey, the US and European Union as a terrorist organisation, because of its attacks on Turkish security forces and civilians.
In 2012 it stepped up its attacks, leading to the fiercest fighting in decades, but violence has subsided during the winter.

Rodgers urges home grown recruitment

By ESPN staff

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has urged his club's scouts to search for talent in their own backyard, insisting recruiting players from other European leagues isn't always the best option.

PA PhotosRodgers believes the success of local players Gerrard and Carragher prove home grown is best

Despite international players forming a majority of Liverpool's current first team squad, the Reds' two most experienced players, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher were both born on Merseyside.
The recruitment of England international Daniel Sturridge signalled Rodgers' intention to utilise home grown talent and the Liverpool boss claims history speaks for itself.
"My big thing is getting young players in here from the local area," Rodgers said. "Boys from Liverpool. If you look at the history here: the Carragher, the Gerrard, the McManaman, the Fowler, the Owen.
"And you name me the best two players in England in the last six or seven years? Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, and they are Scousers. One is from that part of the city and the other from that part. So you are not telling me there are not top young talents in Liverpool.
Liverpool's Spanish contingent grew under former boss Rafa Benitez, but Rodgers claims he prefers substance over the style that some club's search for in the transfer window.
"It is sexy to look in Spain, and I am one who loves working with European players. I love working with the talents, and all my life i have worked with players from different parts of the world.
"But we mustn't forget what is on our doorstep, and, for me, this is a hot bed for footballers who have a passion, hunger and incredible qualities. That is a massive part of my job and something we are trying to put in place."

Dalglish could be offered Liverpool role

By ESPN staff

Liverpool could offer former manager Kenny Dalglish a return to Anfield as a club ambassador, according to the Telegraph.

PA PhotosLiverpool are the League Cup holders

Dalglish was sacked as Liverpool boss in May last year after a disappointing Premier League campaign, although he did lead the side to League Cup glory.
After his departure, the Scot hinted that he would be open to taking up similar role to that which he occupied prior to Roy Hodgson's tenure.
He said at the time: "I said when first approached about coming back as manager that I would always be of help if I can at any time and that offer remains the same."
And the Telegraph reports that Liverpool's principal owner, John W Henry, is keen to offer Dalglish a role on Merseyside.
"He is in many ways the heart and soul of the club. He personifies everything that is good about Liverpool Football Club," Henry said last summer.
"He has always put the club and its supporters first. Kenny will always be a part of the family at Anfield."

Gerrard relishes return to attacking role

By Mike Whalley

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes he is getting back to his best after describing his form over the first half of the season as "mixed".

GettyImagesSteven Gerrard scores an early penalty for Liverpool at Stoke's Britannia Stadium

Gerrard, 32, has played every minute of the Premier League campaign for Brendan Rodgers' side so far, helping them climb to eighth place after a slow start. He became only the 10th player to make 600 appearances for Liverpool when he faced Newcastle in November, a few days before winning his 100th England cap in a friendly against Sweden.
But the midfielder, who has scored five goals for his club this season, believes he has yet to reach top gear. And as he prepares for Sunday's Premier League trip to Manchester United, the midfielder feels he is ready to return to the more adventurous style that made his name.
He told the official Liverpool magazine: "I've had mixed experiences this season. I've passed some unbelievable landmarks for club and country, getting to the 600 games mark and winning my 100th cap for England. But with the slow start we made and being where we have been in the league, it's been a bit mixed for me.
"There's my form as well. I've played well in some games but I've been disappointed with myself in others and I'm not happy with my goal tally at the moment. People's opinions, perceptions and the way they judge you change when you get a goal. I think my performances are getting closer to where I want them to be. So if I can add goals to those performances, then maybe people will start saying the old Steven Gerrard is back."
Gerrard has often played in a deeper role for Liverpool under Rodgers, a switch made necessary by an early-season thigh injury to Lucas Leiva. But with Lucas fully recovered to resume as a holding midfielder, Gerrard is likely to be given more licence to get forward over the second half of the season.
The Liverpool captain said: "I don't think the manager's asked me to do anything different in terms of the way he wants to me to perform but because of certain injuries, situations that have happened to the team and formations that we've played, I've naturally played a little bit deeper. I've maybe gone into protection mode rather than playing the old Steven Gerrard way with the shackles off and going for the jugular.
"When you're one of the experienced players in the team, the team's more important than yourself. Maybe I've sacrificed myself in certain games and tried to protect by playing deeper and be a controller with Joe Allen. But now that Lucas is back, he gives me the licence to get forward a lot more, so I hope I can add some goals to my performances.
"I've got the buzz that the team's improving and it's going to get better. I'm confident that come the end of the season I will be satisfied with myself and the team because I do believe we can finish the season really strong."

Scholes: Liverpool rivalry is special

By Richard Jolly

Paul Scholes has said Liverpool still rank among Manchester United's major rivals and described Sunday's Old Trafford game between the two as one of the biggest of the season.

PA PhotosPaul Scholes relishes the Liverpool rivalry

The 38-year-old United midfielder said that, despite the Merseysiders' failure to challenge for the title in many recent seasons, meetings between the teams always generated a memorable atmosphere.
"I think it was the top one for quite some while," Scholes told Inside United. "Liverpool probably haven't done as well as they'd have liked over the last few years, and they'd probably admit that, but it's still right up there - it'll always be right up there."
With 18 and 19 league titles respectively, plus five and three European Cups, Liverpool and United are English football's two most successful clubs.
But Liverpool are currently 21 points behind league leaders United and, since contesting the title in 2009, have not finished in the division's top five.
"Whether Manchester City have overtaken Liverpool now [as United's biggest rivals], I don't know," Scholes added. "It'll probably take years for City to create what Liverpool have done.
"But Liverpool historically are our biggest rivals - they're always the biggest games and the best atmospheres. But I'm sure City will run them close."
Having announced that he was to retire after the 2011 Champions League final, Scholes returned to action a year ago and said he had no regrets about making a comeback.
"I just wanted to come back playing, and I'm glad I did," he added.

More torment for Torres as Swans soar

By John Brewin, Stamford Bridge

If the Ballon d'Or revealed anything, it is that to be regarded as the best by football's fraternity, you must play in Spain. Those at Chelsea and Swansea City clearly agree. Seven Spaniards began as compared to five British, but where Swansea's Hispanic influence thrived and is in touching distance of Wembley, this was another night to forget for Chelsea's cursed Spanish axis of Fernando Torres and Rafa Benitez.

PA PhotosFernando Torres suffered again for Chelsea in a lone striking role

If Roman Abramovich was watching on his extended winter holiday, his yearning for yet another Spaniard in Pep Guardiola can only have deepened.
The return leg in the Costa Del Glamorgan already has the look of a last stand for Stamford Bridge's least popular Spaniard. Benitez came to Chelsea accepting the equation of trophies in return for abuse. It is not working out in his favour. The Club World Cup was lost; the Premier League looks out of reach and the League Cup no longer looks a bye to glory.
Benitez, who was facing down calls of Roberto Di Matteo's name by the end, may soon have a rival in ire. "Take Torres with ya!" bellowed one angry Blue at Benitez as he made his way down the tunnel. Patience is running very thin. Just like last week's humiliating QPR defeat, Chelsea never got going, and Swansea seized gleefully on twinned mistakes from Branislav Ivanovic to leave the nation salivating at the prospect of a Swansea v Bradford City final. It is the type of fixture that used to grace the Sherpa Vans Trophy.
Michael Laudrup's Swansea played in the manner of a mid-ranking Spanish Primera Liga team on a Europa League away day; the Dane learned his art in Spain, having sat at the feet of Johan Cruyff at Barcelona. The Swans were a combination of careful passing and direct attacking when the need arose, with quality finishing too.
Swansea's style of play must have been familiar to Torres. With a two-year anniversary of crashing underachievement fast approaching, he has another striker to compete with. Demba Ba may not possess the pedigree of Didier Drogba, but he still has a far better scoring rate than Torres. At the weekend, he eased into his Chelsea career with a brace at Southampton, a haul of Chelsea goals that took Torres months to equal. His ten-minute cameo saw him wrongly booked for a dive, and having a goal chalked off for a highly marginal offside. He offered the threat his far more expensive colleague almost never has as a Chelsea player.
The false economies of football were further revealed when Swansea's Michu scored the type of goal that Torres has long forgotten how to execute. Michu cost - at £2 million - just 4% of Torres' pricetag. His goal record and growing reputation serve as mockery of his compatriot. "What he's doing in sense of goals is incredible," Laudrup said of Michu. "He has one chance, one goal. That's a top class centre forward."
Michu's yo-yo career, between La Liga's lesser lights, contrasts with the princely beginnings of Torres at Atletico Madrid. When Torres was scoring the goals at Liverpool that had Abramovich reaching for his gold-plated chequebook, Michu was struggling in the Segunda with Celta Vigo.
"He scores when he wants" is the Swans' song for Michu. Chelsea fans have never amended the same ditty for Torres. He has not done enough to move any Blue-hearted wordsmith to song. Worryingly for Torres, Ba is already being regaled. "We want Demba Ba," began an angry faction, after a poor Torres cross had evaded everybody. It soon became a hit on heavy rotation.
Michu's goal was scored with the clipped control of a regular goalscorer. He curved the ball around Ross Turnbull with a confidence repeated later with an acrobatic effort from a Wayne Routledge cross.
Torres looked vaguely threatening only twice. The first time he wafted a ball over the bar when advancing to the edge of Swansea's 18-yard area. The second saw him advancing on goal from left-hand side, ready to open up his right and strike across Gerhard Tremmel in the style he made his own at Liverpool. Unfortunately, he was doing so from an offside position, and by some distance too.
Frank Lampard's shuttle runs down the sidelines drew the warmest applause from the home faithful. The benched and departing Chelsea legend was hardly milking it but clearly knew he was at the centre of attention. He was even to be found smiling as the Swansea supporters joined in the fun too. By far the loudest cheer of the night from home fans sounded when Lampard eventually came on.
Its volume was almost matched by the cheers that greeted Ba's eventual arrival. It was Torres he replaced, and there were distinct murmurings of disapproval as the No. 9 departed. The boos sounded only from mischievous Swans but the worm of opinion is most definitely turning.

PA PhotosRafa Benitez endured a frustrating evening as Chelsea failed to make their chances count

Instead, it was his manager who was targeted. Benitez, fidgety all night, and often engaged in testy chat with the fourth official as his team misfired, looked to the skies as Ivanovic made his second mistake and Danny Graham converted with the same cool he had shown against Arsenal. The unwelcome house guest sat even more uncomfortably on a night when, save for John Terry and Petr Cech, he had fielded his strongest team.
"The team was doing really well," Benitez said in a summary where familiarity is only likely to bring contempt. "There were a lot of chances. We made two mistakes and we paid for them. The team was attacking and creating chances.
"We made two mistakes and conceded two goals. It's something in football that can happen," he continued. He spoke of 23 chances created, where Laudrup counted just three of any quality.
"If we play this game ten times, we will win nine of them," Benitez said. His analysis was as unconvincing as his team had been. He may not be a Spaniard in the works for much longer.