Greek state. Unlike the Christian Albanians of Greece, the Muslim Cham Albanians were seen by Greek nationalists as an immediate threat to the state. Meanwhile, fascist Italian propaganda initiated in 1939 an aggressive pro-Albanian campaign for the annexation of the Greek region and the creation of a Greater Albanian state. At the beginning of World War II, when Greece announced its full mobilisation prior to the Italian invasion, Cham Albanians requested to be included in said mobilisation; in response, Greece included them in the mobilisation but had them work in construction rather than give them arms, which alienated the Albanians. At that time Albania had become an Italian protectorate. Muslim Chams, being unofficially considered Albanians, eventually were treated as a hostile population. Cham Albanian community leaders were arrested and forced into exile by Greek authorities on the same day that Italy invaded Greece, which gave the community indubitable proof that the Greek state held a negative perception towards the Chams; it left their community without leadership, which probably influenced their behaviour towards the Greeks in the following months. When the Chams fought on the side of the Italian Army that was invading Greece, they turned against the local Christians. However, when the Greek army reoccupied the area during the early stages of the Italian invasion, they exiled nearly the entire Cham Albanian male population. Greek forces turned a blind eye to the resulting atrocities committed against Cham Albanians by locals. With the onset of the Second World War, a part of the Muslim Cham population collaborated with the Axis troops, with the degree being a matter of academic debate. They did so either by providing indirect support (guides, local connections, informants etc.) or by being recruited as Axis troops and armed irregulars. The latter cases were responsible for atrocities against the local Greek populace. Overall, the Muslim Chams were sympathetic to Axis forces during the war and benefited from the Axis occupation of Greece. These Cham collaborators displayed extreme cruelty toward the Greek population and indulged in massacres and lootings. Armed Cham collaborator units actively participated in Nazi operations that resulted in the murder of more than 1,200 Greek villagers between July and September 1943, and, in January 1944, in the murder of 600 people on the Albanian side of the border. There were also moderate elements within the Muslim Cham community who opposed hatred of their Greek neighbors, including