The Turkish government openly threatened Syria over its support for the PKK. Turkey claimed that Syria employed former Schutzstaffel officer Alois Brunner to train militants. Turkey and Syria nearly engaged in war when Turkey threatened military action if Syria continued to shelter Abdullah Öcalan in Damascus, his long-time safe haven. Öcalan was the leader and one of the founding members of the PKK. As a result, the Syrian government forced Öcalan to leave the country, who was captured in Kenya on February 15, 1999, while being transferred from the Greek embassy to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, in an operation by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) with the help of the CIA.