"The whole point of the Geneva Conventions was to confine conflicts to, if not regular state signatories, then to combatant groups who recognized—and upheld—its legitimacy. The purpose was not only to protect armed service members from abuse, but, even more importantly, to place civilians beyond the scope of legitimate conflict. In return for this protection, civilian militias were placed on notice that, in order to receive the protections of the Conventions, they would have to fully apply them, which meant that they would, in essence, have to organize themselves as legitimate armed forces—making a clear distinction between themselves and civilians—in order to qualify for the protection of the Conventions. At the same time, this also put civilians on notice that, if they wished to keep their protections under the conventions intact, a clear bifurcation had to be made between militia forces and the regular civilian population."