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Stanley Greene © Noorimages April 2013 ..Aleppo city's embattled district of Sheikh Maqsud,Snipers rule the roofs and the streets ...Engizek commander of the YPK Brigade Zenar ( Kurdish Fighters ) confronts a Al-Nusra Front commander who is upset that her fighters fired on his fighters , by mistake , as she explains , you entered are area and did not not announce your presence here , my people have been ordered to shoot anyone who enters this area , there are many infiltrators , and spies , this is our front , and we control it the way we want . ., .Al-Nusra Front ( foreign fighters , fighting the regime ) The presence of women fighters in conservative Syrian society inspires both awe and shock.."They are not women -- they are men," said one Al-Nusra Front commander with a bulbous beard. "A real woman is more feminine.".He said he was particularly opposed to women on the front line because their presence can "seriously distract male fighters"..."There's no need for women to pick up the gun," says most of the Free Syrian said. "There are so many men out there.".Engizek's comrades dismissed such a view as "retarded".."This country will not be free until women are free," said Lokman Abusalam, a 41-year-old fighter, adding that his male comrades have no problem in reporting to a female commander..Engizek said the ascendancy of radical Islamist groups in Syria's messy civil war has led to concerns that they may begin trampling women's rights..She expressed particular dismay about the rise of the Islamist Al-Nusra Front, which has announced its affiliation to Al-Qaeda.."We are not willing to collaborate with those who don't accept women's rights," she said. "As a group we cannot accept that. As a woman, I cannot accept that.".. (KEYSTONE/NOOR/)