This unit, being small and somewhat isolated, had been operating without definite objectives, but it proved to be very important for the Greek cause as it helped in fights against local Turkish chiefs, pro-Romanian Aromanians, and Bulgarian komitadjis. Additionally, local support from pro-Greek Aromanians in Kastoria empowered Greek activity in the region. A notable Greek makedonomachos of Aromanian descent was Anastasios Pichion. In Pelagonia, the pro-Greek sentiments of Aromanians during the Macedonian Struggle contributed to their displacement. When they migrated to Greece, they were already financially ruined. Pro-Romanian Aromanians As the Bulgarians had managed to introduce their language in church services and education in the Ottoman Empire, so did the pro-Romanian Aromanians start demanding the same rights. The Greek Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople reacted strongly to this however amid increased rivalry in the region and eight Aromanian churches were closed by his personal order in 1875. This produced protests from the pro-Romanian Aromanians to the Ottoman and Romanian government, and also increased tensions between the pro-Romanian Aromanians and the Greeks as well as with pro-Greek Aromanians, which led to physical violence that often ended in fatalities. In 1903, following the failure of the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising in which many pro-Romanian Aromanian and Bulgarian soldiers had fought with the aim of creating a Macedonian autonomy, the Ottoman Empire allowed the intervention of Greek militias, known as antartes and formed within Greece with commanders from the Greek state, to suppress potential renewed attempts of this objective. These commanders began to threaten the leaders of various Romanian schools in Aromanian villages, warning them that if they did not close down their activities, they would be attacked. Given this, some pro-Romanian Aromanian fighters referred to as armatoles (, in singular) began to take up arms, the first ones being Mihali Handuri from Livadia ( or ) and Hali Joga from (), who having been joined by various young pro-Romanian Aromanian fighters, began to attack Greek bands in the area of Edessa and Veria. These pro-Romanian Aromanian bands were allied with Bulgarian bands in Ottoman Macedonia. In 1906, under Gheorghe Mucitani, they were organized into two committees, one in Bucharest led by Alex Coșca and Sterie Milioru and the other in Sofia led by Mucitani. He decided to divide their area of ​​operations into districts led by a so-called voivode. These bands were allowed free passage by Bulgarian villages. Clashes Starting from summer of 1904, clashes