A DERELICT Reading pub has been taken over by activists hoping to spread a message about Kurdistan.

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The Red Lion, in Southampton Street, which was closed in 2015, has been transformed by squatters into 'Kobani House', described on the Facebook page as "a political social centre" in solidarity with "the people and revolutions of Kurdistan."

The group say they are founded on the principles of "peoples democracy, women's liberation, and ecology".

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They have occupied the space for a month, and are protesting the Turkish invasion of north-east Syria.