View source for Religion:Rojava conflict

{{Short description|Military and political conflict in northern Syria}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = Rojava conflict
| partof = the Syrian civil war and the Turkish–Kurdish conflict
| image = Rojava Collage.jpg
| caption = Top left: SDF Victory in the Battle for Raqqa (2017).<br>Top right: Coalition airstrike on [[Religion:Islamic State|SIL]] position in Kobanî.<br>Middle right: PYD supporters at a funeral.<br>Bottom left: Kurdish YPJ fighters.<br>Bottom right: Syriac Military Council patch.
| date = 19 July 2012{{snd}} ongoing ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|year1=2012|month1=07|day1=19}})
| timezone = GMT +3
| place = [[Place:Al-Hasakah Governorate|Al-Hasakah Governorate]], [[Place:Raqqa Governorate|Raqqa Governorate]], Aleppo Governorate, [[Place:Deir ez-Zor Governorate|Deir ez-Zor Governorate]], [[Place:Syria|Syria]]
| goals = * [[Philosophy:Libertarian socialism|Libertarian socialism]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anon |title=Revolution in Rojava: Democratic Autonomy in Kurdistan |url=https://c4ss.org/content/57680 |access-date=2023-07-23 |website=Center for a Stateless Society |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Colella |first=Chris |date=Winter 2017 |title=The Rojava Revolution: Oil, Water, and Liberation – Commodities, Conflict, and Cooperation |url=https://sites.evergreen.edu/ccc/other/the-rojava-revolution/ |access-date=2023-07-23 |website=Commodities, Conflict, and Cooperation |publisher=[[Organization:Evergreen State College|Evergreen State College]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Libertarian Socialism: Politics in Black and Red |publisher=PM Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-62963-390-9 |editor-last=Prichard |editor-first=Alex |edition=2nd |location=Oakland, CA |chapter=Preface |editor-last2=Kinna |editor-first2=Ruth |editor-last3=Pinta |editor-first3=Saku |editor-last4=Berry |editor-first4=David}}</ref>
* [[Philosophy:Direct democracy|Direct democracy]] 
* [[Social:Gender equality|Gender equality]]
* [[Social:Eco-socialism|Eco-socialism]]
* Federalization of Syria
* Kurdish nationalism
* [[Earth:Democratic confederalism|Democratic confederalism]]<ref name="demcon">{{Cite web |title=Rojava, Syria: A revolution of hope and healing |url=https://www.vancouverobserver.com/opinion/rojava-syria-revolution-hope-and-healing.html |access-date=2023-07-23 |website=The Vancouver Observer |language=en}}</ref>
* Establishment of a permanent Autonomous Zone in Northeastern Syria
* Withdrawal of [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]] and Turkish Allied Free Syrian Army from Rojava-claimed territory (since 2016)
| methods = * [[Social:Rebellion|Uprising]]
* Demonstrations
| status = Ongoing
* The PYD and allies declared the establishment of [[Place:Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria|an autonomous region in northeastern Syria]]
* Some FSA groups join Rojava as part of the Syrian Democratic Forces
* [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]] and Turkish allied Free Syrian Army occupy parts of Rojava
| howmany1 = 
| howmany2 = 
| result = <!--fill when conflict is over, status should be empty-->
| fatalities = 17,200+<ref>122–148 in Ras al-Ayn [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161915#.UPrOHSf7JCh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721030202/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161915#.UPrOHSf7JCh |date=21 July 2015 }}[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/20121114151645545785.html]  [http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/20/world/europe/turkey-syria-violence/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713014240/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/20/world/europe/turkey-syria-violence/ |date=13 July 2015 }}[https://www.facebook.com/syriahroe/posts/301367636638248] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204074230/https://www.facebook.com/syriahroe/posts/301367636638248 |date=4 February 2016 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/5463.html |title=Rudaw.net - English - Kurdish Fighters and Syrian Rebels Announce Fragile Ceasefire |access-date=2012-11-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203082416/http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/5463.html |archive-date=3 December 2012 |df=dmy-all }}[https://www.facebook.com/syriahroe/posts/322879291153749] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204074230/https://www.facebook.com/syriahroe/posts/322879291153749 |date=4 February 2016 }}[http://www.syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=2610&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.UP3d_if7JCg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023022422/http://www.syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=2610&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.UP3d_if7JCg |date=23 October 2014 }}[http://www.syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=2725&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.UQLNw7_7JCg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022161451/http://www.syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=2725&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.UQLNw7_7JCg |date=22 October 2014 }}[http://www.syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=2814&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.UQbifr_7JCg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022161028/http://www.syriahr.com/index.php?option=com_news&nid=2814&Itemid=2&task=displaynews#.UQbifr_7JCg |date=22 October 2014 }}[http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-07-17/syrian-kurds-expel-radical-islamists-from-town-activist-says] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822020151/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-07-17/syrian-kurds-expel-radical-islamists-from-town-activist-says |date=22 August 2013 }}[http://www.badische-zeitung.de/nachrichten/ausland/die-arabische-revolution-hat-den-kurden-freiheit-gebracht--70598077.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515140938/http://www.badische-zeitung.de/nachrichten/ausland/die-arabische-revolution-hat-den-kurden-freiheit-gebracht--70598077.html |date=15 May 2013 }}, 30 in Aleppo [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/fighting-erupts-between-syrian-rebels-and-kurds/2012/10/31/fedd811a-239e-11e2-92f8-7f9c4daf276a_story.html]</ref><ref name="ypgcasualties">
{{cite web
 |url         = http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/ypg-release-balance-sheet-of-war-for-2013.htm
 |title       = YPG release balance sheet of war for 2013
 |publisher   = Firatnews
 |date        = 23 December 2013
 |access-date  = 23 December 2013
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20131224111243/http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/ypg-release-balance-sheet-of-war-for-2013.htm
 |archive-date = 24 December 2013
 |df          = dmy-all
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.bestanuce1.com/haber/160643/ypg-releases-balance-sheet-of-2014-nearly-5000-isis-members-killed&dil=en
 |title       = YPG releases balance-sheet of 2014: Nearly 5,000 ISIS members killed
 |work        = BestaNûçe Bestanuce.com
 |access-date  = 24 January 2015
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20150102163013/http://www.bestanuce1.com/haber/160643/ypg-releases-balance-sheet-of-2014-nearly-5000-isis-members-killed%26dil%3Den
 |archive-date = 2 January 2015
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/01/kurds-kill-more-than-5000-isis-militants-in-2015/|title=More than 5500 ISIS militants killed in clashes with Syrian Kurds in 2015 |work=ARA News|date=January 2016|access-date=1 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212142229/http://aranews.net/2016/01/kurds-kill-more-than-5000-isis-militants-in-2015/|archive-date=12 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ypgrojava.com">
{{cite web |url=http://ypgrojava.com/en/2016/01/01/balance-of-the-war-against-hostile-groups-in-rojava-northern-syria-year-2015/ |title=Balance of the War Against Hostile Groups in Rojava, Northern Syria: Year 2015 – People's Defense Units Official Website |access-date=2016-03-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126073438/http://ypgrojava.com/en/2016/01/01/balance-of-the-war-against-hostile-groups-in-rojava-northern-syria-year-2015/ |archive-date=26 January 2016 |df=dmy-all }}
</ref>
| injuries = 
| arrests = 
| side1 = {{flagicon image|Ala kurdên rojava.svg}}  '''[[Place:Rojava|Rojava]]'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/13112013|title=PYD Announces Surprise Interim Government in Syria's Kurdish Reg|work=Rudaw|access-date=24 October 2014|archive-date=25 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225105734/http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/13112013|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Kurdish&nbsp;Supreme&nbsp;Committee
** {{flagicon image|Flag of the Democratic Union Party.svg}} Democratic Union Party
*** {{flagicon image|People's Protection Units Flag.svg}} People's Defense Units (YPG)
*** Asayiş
** {{flagicon image|Flag of the Democratic Union Party.svg}} Democratic Union Party (Yekîtî)
** {{flagicon image|}} Kurdish National Council
**Jabhat al-Akrad (ex-Free Syrian Army but still rebel allied brigade)<ref name="blogs.mediapart.fr">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/maxime-azadi/220713/al-qaida-subit-de-lourdes-pertes-face-aux-forces-kurdes|title=Al-Qaeda suffered heavy losses against the Kurdish forces|publisher=|access-date=24 October 2014|archive-date=25 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725000512/http://blogs.mediapart.fr/blog/maxime-azadi/220713/al-qaida-subit-de-lourdes-pertes-face-aux-forces-kurdes|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|}}Syriac Union Party
**Syriac Military Council (MFS)
** {{flagicon image|}} Sutoro
** Khabour Guards
* {{flagicon image|Flag_of_Kurdistan_Workers_Party_(PKK).svg}} Kurdistan Workers' Party
* {{flagicon image|International Freedom Battalion original banner.svg}} International Freedom Battalion<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kurdishquestion.com/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/internationalist-freedom-brigade-established-in-rojava.html|title=Internationalist Freedom Brigade Established in Rojava|date=11 June 2015|publisher=Kurdish Question|access-date=13 June 2015|archive-date=19 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150719133709/http://kurdishquestion.com/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/internationalist-freedom-brigade-established-in-rojava.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.janes.com/article/52169/osint-summary-pro-kurdish-foreign-fighters-group-established-in-syria|title=OSINT Summary: Pro-Kurdish foreign fighters group established in Syria|last=Moore|first=Harriet|date=11 June 2015|publisher=Jane's Terrorism and Security Monitor|access-date=13 June 2015|archive-date=14 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614103038/http://www.janes.com/article/52169/osint-summary-pro-kurdish-foreign-fighters-group-established-in-syria|url-status=live}}</ref>
**{{flagicon image|MLKP Banner.svg}} Marxist–Leninist Communist Party
**{{flagicon image|Flag of Communist Party of Turkey-Marxist–Leninist.svg}} Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey
**{{flagicon image|MKP-FLAG.svg}} Peoples' Liberation Army
* Arab tribesmen
** Sharabiyya tribe<br>(Ras al-'Ayn area)<ref name="haras-oct2013">{{cite web|url=http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-battle-for-syrias-al-hasakah-province|title=The Battle for Syria's Al-Hasakah Province|last=Haras|first=Nicholas A.|date=24 October 2013|publisher=Combating Terrorism Center|access-date=14 January 2014|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200038/https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-battle-for-syrias-al-hasakah-province|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** Zubayd tribe <br>(Ras al-'Ayn area)<ref name="haras-oct2013"/>
** Shammar tribe<br>(Ya'rubiyah area)<ref name="mixed areas">{{cite journal|last=van Wilgenburg|first=Wladimir|date=13 December 2013|title=Kurdish Strategy Towards Ethnically-Mixed Areas in the Syrian Conflict|journal=Terrorism Monitor|publisher=Jamestown Foundation|volume=11|issue=23|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/52aef0e34.html|access-date=14 January 2014|archive-date=24 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324012016/http://www.refworld.org/docid/52aef0e34.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
----
{{flagicon image|Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg}} Euphrates Volcano/Syrian Democratic Forces (since 12 September 2014).<ref name="ara13sept">{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2014/09/ypg-fsa-launch-joint-military-operations-islamic-state-northern-syria/|title=YPG and FSA launch joint military operations against Islamic State in northern Syria|publisher=ARA News|date=13 September 2014|access-date=14 September 2014|archive-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913032746/http://aranews.net/2014/09/ypg-fsa-launch-joint-military-operations-islamic-state-northern-syria/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 
** Syria Revolutionaries Front
** Jarabulus Brigade
** Al-Tawhid Brigade
** Jaysh al-Thuwar
** Smaller FSA-ideology militias
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} {{flagicon image|People's Protection Units Flag.svg|border=no}} '''YPG-Allied FSA'''<br>
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg}} Jabhat al-Akrad (since 2014) <ref name="blogs.mediapart.fr"/>
*{{flagdeco|Syrian Opposition}} Northern Democratic Brigade<ref name="redeploys">{{cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/kurdish-forces-capture-village-northern-aleppo-turkish-army-redeploys/|title=Kurdish forces capture village in northern Aleppo as the Turkish Army redeploys|author=Chris Tomson|work=al-Masdar News|date=23 October 2016|access-date=22 November 2023|archive-date=3 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203200547/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/kurdish-forces-capture-village-northern-aleppo-turkish-army-redeploys/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
----
{{flagicon image|Inherent Resolve.jpg|size=23px}} '''Operation Inherent Resolve'''
* {{flagcountry|United States}}
* {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}
* {{flagcountry|Canada}}
* {{flagcountry|France}}
* {{flagcountry|Jordan}}
* {{flagcountry|United Arab Emirates}}
* {{flagcountry|Bahrain}}
* {{flagcountry|Morocco}}
* {{flagcountry|Saudi Arabia}}
----
{{Flagicon|Syria}} [[Place:Syria|Syria]] (since 2019)
{{Flagicon|Russia}} {{wipe|Russia}} (since 2019)
| side2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg}} Turkish allied Syrian opposition
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg}} Syrian National Army (From 2017)
** {{flagicon image|Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg}} 13th Division
** {{flagicon image|Flag of Syria 2011, observed.svg}} Knights of Justice Brigade
** {{flagicon image|Flag of Syrian Turkmens.svg}} Syrian Turkmen Brigades
* Islamic Front
** {{flagicon image|Flag_of_Ahrar_ash-Sham.svg}} Ahrar ash-Sham
** Jaysh al-Islam
** {{flagicon image|Ansar_al-Sham_Logo.png }} Ansar al-Sham
{{Flag|Turkey}}
* {{flagdeco|Turkey}} Turkish Armed Forces
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Turkish Land Forces Command.svg}} Turkish Land Forces
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Turkish Air Force Command.svg}} {{wipe|Turkish Air Force}}
----
{{Flagicon image|AQMI_Flag_asymmetric.svg}} [[Religion:Islamic State|Islamic State]]
| side3 = {{Flagicon|Syria}} [[Place:Syria|Syria]] (until 2019)
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces.svg}} Syrian Armed Forces 
{{Flagicon|Russia}} {{wipe|Russia}} (until 2019)
}}
The '''Rojava conflict''', also known as the '''Rojava Revolution''', is a political upheaval and military conflict taking place in northern [[Place:Syria|Syria]], known among Kurds as '''Western Kurdistan''' or '''Rojava'''.

During the Syrian civil war that began in 2011, a Kurdish-dominated coalition led by the Democratic Union Party as well as some other Kurdish, Arab, Syriac-Assyrian, and Turkmen groups have sought to establish a new constitution for the ''de facto'' autonomous region, while military wings and allied militias have fought to maintain control of the region. This led to the establishment of the [[Place:Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria|Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria]] (AANES) in 2016.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schmidinger|first=Thomas|title=Krieg und Revolution in Syrisch-Kurdistan: Analysen und Stimmen aus Rojava}}</ref>

Supporters of the AANES state that the events constitute a [[Social:Social revolution|social revolution]]<ref name=secular-utopia>{{cite news|last1=Enzinna|first1=Wes|title=A Dream of Secular Utopia in ISIS' Backyard|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/magazine/a-dream-of-utopia-in-hell.html?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 November 2015|access-date=27 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151128082823/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/magazine/a-dream-of-utopia-in-hell.html?_r=0|archive-date=28 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> with a prominent role played by women both on the battlefield and within the newly formed political system, as well as the implementation of [[Earth:Democratic confederalism|democratic confederalism]], a form of [[Philosophy:Libertarian socialism|libertarian socialism]] that emphasizes decentralization, gender equality and the need for local governance through [[Philosophy:Direct democracy|direct democracy]].<ref name="demcon">{{Cite web |title=Rojava, Syria: A revolution of hope and healing |url=https://www.vancouverobserver.com/opinion/rojava-syria-revolution-hope-and-healing.html |access-date=2023-07-23 |website=The Vancouver Observer |language=en}}</ref><ref name="secular-utopia" />

==Background==
[[File:Kurds Caught in Throes of Syrias War.ogv|thumb|left|thumbtime=2:06|2013 VOA report about the Kurdish situation in Syria]]

===State discrimination===
Repression of the Kurds and other ethnic minorities has gone on since the creation of the French Mandate of Syria after the Sykes–Picot Agreement.<ref name="remmm.revues.org">{{cite journal
  |url=http://remmm.revues.org/6481
  |title=Les territoires de marge de la Syrie mandataire&nbsp;: le mouvement autonomiste de la Haute Jazîra, paradoxes et ambiguïtés d'une intégration "&nbsp;nationale&nbsp;" inachevée (1936–1939)
  |author=Gorgas, Jordi Tejel
  |journal=Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée
 |year=2009
 |issue=126
 |doi=10.4000/remmm.6481
 |access-date=20 October 2015
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016173334/http://remmm.revues.org/6481
  |archive-date=16 October 2015
  |url-status=live
  |doi-access=free
  }}</ref> 
The Syrian government (officially known as the Syrian Arab Republic) never officially acknowledged the existence of the Kurds<ref name="remmm.revues.org"/> and in 1962, 120,000 Syrian Kurds were stripped of their citizenship, leaving them stateless.<ref name=hrw-silenced-kurds>{{cite web
  |title=The Silenced Kurds
  |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Syria.htm
  |website=Human Rights Watch
  |access-date=28 November 2015
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312084700/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Syria.htm
  |archive-date=12 March 2017
  |url-status=live
  }}</ref> The Kurdish language and culture have also been suppressed. The government attempted to resolve these issues in 2011 by granting all Kurds citizenship, but only an estimated 6,000 out of 150,000 stateless Kurds have been given nationality and most discriminatory regulations, including the ban on teaching Kurdish, are still on the books.<ref>{{cite news|title=Minority Kurds struggle for recognition in Syrian revolt|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Mar-31/168622-minority-kurds-struggle-for-recognition-in-syrian-revolt.ashx#axzz21XpGFIlr|access-date=27 July 2012|newspaper=The Daily Star Lebanon|date=31 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001234705/http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Mar-31/168622-minority-kurds-struggle-for-recognition-in-syrian-revolt.ashx#axzz21XpGFIlr|archive-date=1 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Due to the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011, the government is no longer in a position to enforce these laws.

===Qamishli uprising===
In 2004, riots broke out against the government in the northeastern city of [[Place:Qamishli|Qamishli]]. During a soccer match between a local Kurdish team and a visiting Arab team from Deir ez-Zor, some Arab fans brandished portraits of Saddam Hussein, who killed tens of thousands of Kurds in [[Place:Southern Kurdistan|Southern Kurdistan]] during the Al-Anfal campaign in the 1980s. Tensions quickly escalated into open protests, with Kurds raising their flag and taking to the streets to demand cultural and political rights. Security forces fired into the crowd, killing six Kurds, including three children. Protesters went on to burn down the Ba'ath Party's local office. At least 30 and as many as 100 Kurds were killed by the government before the protests were quelled. Thousands of Kurds then fled to Iraq, where a refugee camp was established. Occasional clashes between Kurdish protesters and government forces occurred in the following years.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Brandon |first=James |title=The PKK and Syria's Kurds |url=http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1014&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=182&no_cache=1 |journal=Terrorism Monitor |publisher=The Jamestown Foundation |location=Washington, DC |volume=5 |issue=3 |date=21 February 2007 |access-date=1 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118114128/https://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1014&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=182&no_cache=1 |archive-date=18 November 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mideastweb.org/log/archives/00000231.htm |title=Kurdish agony – the forgotten massacre of Qamishlo |last=Isseroff |first=Ami |work=MideastWeb |date=24 March 2004 |access-date=16 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009174243/http://www.mideastweb.org/log/archives/00000231.htm |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==The path to self-governed Rojava==

===Syrian Civil War===
[[File:Demonstration in Qamishli against the Syrian government.jpg|thumb|Kurds, Assyrians, and Arabs demonstrate against the Syrian government in Qamishli, 6 January 2012]]
In 2011, the [[Social:Arab Spring|Arab Spring]] spread to Syria. In an echo of the Tunisian revolution, Syrian citizen Hasan Ali Akleh soaked himself in gasoline and set himself on fire in the northern city of [[Place:Al-Hasakah|Al-Hasakah]]. This inspired activists to call for a "Day of Rage", which was sparsely attended, mostly because of fear of repression from the Syrian government. Days later, however, protests again took place, this time in response to the police beating of a shopkeeper.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Iddon|first1=Paul|title=A recap of the Syrian crisis to date|url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/329590|access-date=17 April 2016|agency=Digital Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623005235/http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/329590|archive-date=23 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Smaller protests continued, and on 7 March 2011, thirteen political prisoners went on hunger strike, and momentum began to grow against the Assad government. Three days later dozens of Syrian Kurds went on hunger strike in solidarity.<ref name="Jailed Kurds">{{cite news|url=http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2011/3/syriakurd291.htm|title=Jailed Kurds on Syria hunger strike: rights group|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=10 March 2011|access-date=30 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202134319/http://ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2011/3/syriakurd291.htm|archive-date=2 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> On 12 March, major protests took place in [[Place:Qamishli|Qamishli]] and Al-Hasakah to both protest the Assad government and commemorate Kurdish Martyrs Day.<ref name=taking-to-the-streets>{{cite book |last1=Khatib |first1=Lina |last2=Lust |first2=Ellen |title=Taking to the Streets: The Transformation of Arab Activism |date=1 May 2014 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-1421413136 |page=161 of 368 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Sh8AwAAQBAJ&q=qamishlo+protest+march+12%2C+2011&pg=PA161 |access-date=31 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202134319/https://books.google.com/books?id=6Sh8AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA161&lpg=PA161&dq=qamishlo+protest+march+12,+2011&source=bl&ots=ORYo-JXMXG&sig=LzKtnTEU16F4Hb9tYF6JB6uMiyo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAmoVChMIseCWtNSExwIVSRWSCh2dqAAr#v=onepage&q=qamishlo%20protest%20march%2012%2C%202011&f=false |archive-date=2 February 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Protests grew over the months of March and April 2011. The Assad government attempted to appease Kurds by promising to grant citizenship to thousands of Kurds, who until that time had been stripped of any legal status.<ref name=aljaz2Apr11>{{Cite news |title=Many arrested in Syria after protests |publisher=Al Jazeera |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/20114211257594538.html |date=2 April 2011 |access-date=18 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405193025/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/20114211257594538.html |archive-date=5 April 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> By the summer, protests had only intensified, as did violent crackdowns by the Syrian government.

[[File:People's Defense Units defending Ras al-Ayn against al-Nusra Front terrorists (8).jpg|thumb|Ras al-Ayn and a series of other towns in northern Syria were partially captured by the YPG in 2012 (Battle of Ras al-Ayn depicted).]]

In August, a coalition of opposition groups formed the Syrian National Council in hopes of creating a democratic, pluralistic alternative to the Assad government. But internal fighting and disagreement over politics and inclusion plagued the group from its beginnings. In the fall of 2011 the popular uprising escalated to an armed conflict. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) began to coalesce and armed insurrection spread, largely across central and southern Syria.<ref>{{cite web|title=Guide to the Syrian rebels|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24403003|website=BBC News|access-date=30 March 2017|date=13 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610141415/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24403003|archive-date=10 June 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Kurdish parties negotiate===

The National Movement of Kurdish Parties in Syria, a coalition of Syria's 12 Kurdish parties, boycotted a Syrian opposition summit in Antalya, Turkey on 31 May 2011, stating that "any such meeting held in Turkey can only be a detriment to the Kurds in Syria, because Turkey is against the aspirations of the Kurds".<ref>{{cite web |first=Yoshie |last=Furuhashi |url=http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/kb010611.html |title=Syrian Kurdish Parties Boycott Syrian Opposition Conference in Antalya, Turkey |work=Monthly Review |date=29 May 2011 |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111216224612/http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/kb010611.html |archive-date=16 December 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the August summit in Istanbul, which led to the creation of the Syrian National Council, only two of the parties in the National Movement of Kurdish Parties in Syria, the Kurdish Union Party and the Kurdish Freedom Party, attended the summit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/3941.html |title=Most Syrian Kurdish Parties Boycott Opposition Gathering |work=Rudaw |date=29 August 2011 |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917033604/http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/3941.html |archive-date=17 September 2011 }}</ref>

Anti-government protests had been ongoing in the Kurdish-inhabited areas of Syria since March 2011, as part of the wider Syrian uprising, but clashes started after the opposition Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Kurdish National Council (KNC) signed a seven-point agreement on 11 June 2012 in [[Place:Erbil|Erbil]] under the auspice of [[Place:Iraqi Kurdistan|Iraqi Kurdistan]] president Massoud Barzani. This agreement, however, failed to be implemented and so a new cooperation agreement between the two sides was signed on 12 July which saw the creation of the Kurdish Supreme Committee as a governing body of all Kurdish-controlled territories in Syria.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian Kurds Try to Maintain Unity |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/4964.html |access-date=27 July 2012 |newspaper=Rudaw |date=17 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723012730/http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/4964.html |archive-date=23 July 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syria: Massive protests in Qamishli, Homs|url=http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20110519/103075.shtml|access-date=27 July 2012|newspaper=CNTV|date=19 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513192725/http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20110519/103075.shtml|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian Kurdish Official: Now Kurds are in Charge of their Fate |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/5010.html |access-date=30 July 2012 |newspaper=Rudaw |date=27 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801020239/http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/5010.html |archive-date=1 August 2012 }}</ref>

===YPG claims territory===
The People's Protection Units (YPG) entered the conflict by capturing the city of Kobanî on 19 July 2012, followed by the capture of Amuda and Efrîn on 20 July.<ref name=liberated>{{cite news|title=More Kurdish Cities Liberated As Syrian Army Withdraws from Area |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/4978.html |access-date=27 July 2012 |newspaper=Rudaw |date=20 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721142617/http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/4978.html |archive-date=21 July 2012 }}</ref> The cities fell without any major clashes, as Syrian security forces withdrew without any significant resistance.<ref name=liberated/> The Syrian Army pulled out to fight elsewhere.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE8A619520121107?irpc=932 |title=After quiet revolt, power struggle looms for Syria's Kurds |date=7 November 2012 |agency=Mobile.reuters.com |access-date=8 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203011801/http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE8A619520121107?irpc=932 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The KNC and PYD then formed a joint leadership council to run the captured cities.


The YPG forces continued with their advancement and on 21 July captured Al-Malikiyah ({{lang-ku|Dêrika Hemko}}), which lies 10 kilometers from the Turkish border.<ref>{{cite news|title=City of Derik taken by Kurds in Northeast Syria|url=http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=4957|access-date=27 July 2012|newspaper=Firat news|date=21 July 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802071420/http://en.firatnews.com/index.php?rupel=article&nuceID=4957|archive-date=2 August 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The forces at the time also intended to capture [[Place:Qamishli|Qamishli]], the largest Syrian city with a Kurdish majority.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ban: Syrian regime 'failed to protect civilians'|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/21/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t2|access-date=27 July 2012|newspaper=CNN|date=22 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724002000/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/21/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t2|archive-date=24 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> On the same day, the Syrian government attacked a patrol of Kurdish YPG members and wounded one fighter.<ref>{{cite news|title=Clashes between Kurds and Syrian army in the Kurdish city of Qamişlo, Western Kurdistan|url=http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/7/syriakurd542.htm|access-date=27 July 2012|newspaper=Ekurd.net|date=21 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729051102/http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/7/syriakurd542.htm|archive-date=29 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The next day it was reported that Kurdish forces were still fighting for Al-Malikiyah, where one young Kurdish activist was killed after government security forces opened fire on protesters. The YPG also took control over the towns of Ra's al-'Ayn ({{lang-ku|Serê Kaniyê}}) and Al-Darbasiyah ({{lang-ku|Dirbêsiyê}}), after the security and political units withdrew from these areas, following an ultimatum issued by the Kurds. On the same day, clashes erupted in Qamishli between YPG and government forces in which one Kurdish fighter was killed and two were wounded along with one government official.<ref name=casualties>{{cite news|title=Armed Kurds Surround Syrian Security Forces in Qamishli |first=Adib |last=Abdulmajid |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/4984.html |access-date=27 July 2012 |location=[[Place:Amsterdam|Amsterdam]] |newspaper=Rudaw |date=22 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724224808/http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/4984.html |archive-date=24 July 2012 }}</ref>

On 24 July, the PYD announced that Syrian security forces had withdrawn from the small Kurdish city of 16,000 of Al-Ma'bada ({{lang-ku|Girkê Legê}}), between Al-Malikiyah and the Turkish borders. The YPG forces then took control of all government institutions.<ref name="girkelege">{{cite news|title=Girke Lege Becomes Sixth Kurdish City Liberated in Syria |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/4992.html |access-date=27 July 2012 |newspaper=Rudaw |date=24 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121129100410/http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/4992.html |archive-date=29 November 2012 }}</ref>

===Self-governed Rojava established===
{{Main|Place:Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria}}

On 1 August 2012, state security forces on the periphery of the country were pulled into the intensifying battle taking place in Aleppo. During this large withdrawal from the north, the YPG took control of at least parts of [[Place:Qamishli|Qamishli]], Efrin, Amude, Dirbesiye and Kobanî with very little conflict or casualties.<ref>{{cite news |last=Davies |first=Wyre |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19021766 |title=Crisis in Syria emboldens country's Kurds |work=BBC News |date=27 July 2012 |access-date=3 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803010926/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19021766 |archive-date=3 August 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:AnImage.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Anarchists and Kurds marching in France in support of Rojava]]

On 2 August 2012, the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change announced that most Kurdish-majority cities in Syria, except [[Place:Qamishli|Qamishli]] and Hasaka, were no longer controlled by government forces and were now being governed by Kurdish political parties.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://syrianncb.org/2012/08/02/pyd-press-release-a-call-for-support-and-protection-of-the-peaceful-establishment-the-self-governed-syrian-kurdish-region/ |title=PYD Press Release: A call for support and protection of the peaceful establishment, the self-governed Rojava region &#124; هيئة التنسيق الوطنية لقوى التغيير الديمقراطي |publisher=Syrianncb.org |date=24 February 2012 |access-date=20 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915073042/http://syrianncb.org/2012/08/02/pyd-press-release-a-call-for-support-and-protection-of-the-peaceful-establishment-the-self-governed-syrian-kurdish-region/ |archive-date=15 September 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In Qamishli, government military and police forces remained in their barracks and administration officials in the city allowed the Kurdish flag to be raised.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.petercliffordonline.com/syria/ |title=Syria – News |publisher=Peter Clifford Online |access-date=20 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819123243/http://www.petercliffordonline.com/syria/ |archive-date=19 August 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After months of de facto rule, the PYD officially announced its regional autonomy on 9 January 2014. Elections were held, popular assemblies established and the Constitution of Rojava was approved. Since then, residents organized local assemblies, reopened schools, established community centers, and helped push back the [[Religion:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL) to gain control of almost all land in Syria east of the [[Place:Euphrates|Euphrates]] river. They see their model of grassroots democracy as one that can be implemented throughout Syria in the future.

==Social revolution==
[[File:Kurdish YPG Fighters (15943141741).jpg|thumb|Male and female members of the Asayish police force]]
After declaring autonomy, grassroots organizers, politicians and other community members have radically changed the social and political make-up of the area. The extreme laws restricting independent political organizing, women's freedom, religious and cultural expression and the discriminatory policies carried out by the Assad government have been superseded. In their place, a Constitution of Rojava guaranteeing the cultural, religious and political freedom of all people has been established. The constitution also explicitly states the equal rights and freedom of women and also "mandates public institutions to work towards the elimination of gender discrimination".<ref name="secular-utopia"/>

The political and social changes taking place in Rojava have in large part been inspired by the libertarian socialist politics of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.<ref name=secular-utopia/>

===Cooperative economy===
The Rojava economy is a blend of private companies, the autonomous administration and [[Social:Worker cooperative|worker cooperative]]s. Since the revolution, efforts have been made to transition the economy to one of self-sufficiency based on worker and producer cooperatives. This transition faces the major obstacles of ongoing conflict and an embargo from all neighboring countries: Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and the various forces controlling nearby areas of Syria. This has forced people to rely almost exclusively on diesel-run generators for electricity. Additionally, strong emphasis is being placed on businesses that can bring about self-sufficiency to the region.

There were at first no [[Finance:Direct tax|direct]] or [[Finance:Indirect tax|indirect]] [[Engineering:Tax|tax]]es on people or businesses in the region;<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://cooperativeeconomy.info/the-economy-of-rojava/|title=The Economy of Rojava|access-date=2018-02-26|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227035347/https://cooperativeeconomy.info/the-economy-of-rojava/|archive-date=27 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Instead the administration funded itself mainly through the sale of oil and other natural resources and [[Finance:Tariff|tariff]]s on border commerce (which is clandestine because of the embargo).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biehlonbookchin.com/poor-in-means/|title=Poor in means but rich in spirit|work=Ecology or Catastrophe|access-date=18 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225093300/http://www.biehlonbookchin.com/poor-in-means/|archive-date=25 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="diclenews.com">{{cite web|url=http://diclenews.com/en/news/content/view/436354|title=Efrîn Economy Minister Yousef: Rojava challenging norms of class, gender and power|website=Diclenews.com|access-date=18 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118203533/http://diclenews.com/en/news/content/view/436354|archive-date=18 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> However, in July 2017, it was reported that the administration in the Jazira Region had started to collect income tax to provide for public services in the region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mesopotamia.coop/rojava-administration-to-impose-tax-system-in-northern-syria/|title=Rojava Administration to Impose Tax System in Northern Syria|author1=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|date=11 July 2017|website=Co-operation in Mesopotamia|access-date=1 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327161801/https://mesopotamia.coop/rojava-administration-to-impose-tax-system-in-northern-syria/|archive-date=27 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> There are partnerships that have been created between private companies and the administration. The administration also funds the school system and distributes bread to all citizens at a below-market rate.<ref name="Rojava's Threefold Economy">{{cite web |title=Rojava's Threefold Economy |url=http://kurdishquestion.com/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/rojava-s-threefold-economy/675-rojava-s-threefold-economy.html |access-date=3 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222152441/http://kurdishquestion.com/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/rojava-s-threefold-economy/675-rojava-s-threefold-economy.html |archive-date=22 December 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The Movement for a Democratic Society Economic Committee has been helping businesses move towards a "community economy" based on worker cooperatives and self-sufficiency.<ref name="Rojava's Threefold Economy"/>

[[File:Rojava Sewing Cooperative.jpg|thumbnail|right|Syrians sewing garments in a worker cooperative]]
Other cooperatives involve bottled mineral water, construction, factories, fuel stations, generators, livestock, oil, pistachio and roasted seeds, and public markets.

Additionally there are several agricultural communes with families collectively working the land.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Experience of Co-operative Societies in Rojava|url=http://www.pasewan.com/English/Detail.aspx?Jimare=161|access-date=17 February 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309104252/http://www.pasewan.com/English/Detail.aspx?Jimare=161|archive-date=9 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

According to the region's "Ministry of Economics", by 2015, approximately three-quarters of all property had been placed under community ownership and a third of production had been transferred to direct management by [[Social:Workers' council|workers' council]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Small Key Can Open a Large Door: The Rojava Revolution|date=4 March 2015|publisher=Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness|edition=1st|quote=According to Dr. Ahmad Yousef, an economic co-minister, three-quarters of traditional private property is being used as commons and one quarter is still being owned by use of individuals...According to the Ministry of Economics, worker councils have only been set up for about one third of the enterprises in Rojava so far.}}</ref>

===Direct democracy===
The Rojava Cantons are governed through a combination of district and civil councils. District councils consist of 300 members as well as two elected co-presidents, one man and one woman. District councils decide and carry out administrative and economic duties such as garbage collection, land distribution and cooperative enterprises.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tax |first1=Meredith |title=The Revolution in Rojava |url=http://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-revolution-in-rojava |publisher=Dissent Magazin |access-date=3 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906151104/http://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-revolution-in-rojava |archive-date=6 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Civil councils exist to promote social and political rights in the community.

===Ethnic minority rights===
[[File:Peace for Afrin @ Berlin.jpg|thumb|Protest in support of Rojava and the Rojava revolution against genocide in [[Place:Berlin|Berlin]], Germany]]
Closely related to religious freedom and the protection of religious minorities is the protection of ethnic minorities. Kurds now have the right to study their language freely, as do Assyrians. For the first time, a Kurdish curriculum has been introduced to the public school system.

Residents are also now free to express their culture freely. Culture and music centers have formed, hosting dance classes, music lessons and choir practice.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Kurdish Spring in Syria|url=http://www.dw.com/en/a-kurdish-spring-in-syria/a-16828129|website=DW|access-date=9 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127131212/http://www.dw.com/en/a-kurdish-spring-in-syria/a-16828129|archive-date=27 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In some areas, in addition to the gender quota for councils, there is also an ethnic minority quota.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rojava: only chance for a just peace in the Middle East |url=http://roarmag.org/2015/03/rojava-kurdish-revolution-academic-delegation/ |date=March 2015 |access-date=3 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925004145/http://roarmag.org/2015/03/rojava-kurdish-revolution-academic-delegation/ |archive-date=25 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

There has been, however, numerous instances of discrimination toward Assyrians, including policies of seizing the property of Assyrians who had to flee due to conflict, and numerous instances of attacks against the Assyrian minority.<ref>{{cite web |title=Assyrians Under Kurdish Rule: The Situation in Northeastern Syria |url=http://www.aina.org/reports/ace201701.pdf |date=January 2017 |access-date=7 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221154226/http://www.aina.org/reports/ace201701.pdf |archive-date=21 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Kurdish authorities have also shut down privately run Assyrian schools ostensibly to protect students from "exorbitant tuition costs".<ref>{{cite web |title=Closure of Syrian Schools: Another Bleak Sign for Christians in Syria |website=National Review |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/09/assyrian-christians-face-persecution-kurdish-nationalists/ |date=25 September 2018 |access-date=19 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029205739/https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/09/assyrian-christians-face-persecution-kurdish-nationalists/ |archive-date=29 October 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Why are Kurdish authorities shutting down dozens of private schools in northeast Syria? |url=https://syriadirect.org/news/why-are-kurdish-authorities-shutting-down-dozens-of-private-schools-in-northeast-syria/ |date=9 August 2017 |access-date=19 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019203115/https://syriadirect.org/news/why-are-kurdish-authorities-shutting-down-dozens-of-private-schools-in-northeast-syria/ |archive-date=19 October 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Restorative justice===
Rojava's criminal justice system incorporates principles of [[Philosophy:Restorative justice|restorative justice]].<ref>{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2qT8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT163|title = The Operating System: An Anarchist Theory of the Modern State|isbn = 9781849353885|last1 = Laursen|first1 = Eric|date = 4 May 2021| publisher=AK Press |access-date = 28 January 2022|archive-date = 28 January 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220128064716/https://books.google.com/books?id=2qT8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT163|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TQo3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA190|title = Frontier Socialism: Self-Organisation and Anti-Capitalism|isbn = 9783030523718|last1 = Quirico|first1 = Monica|last2 = Ragona|first2 = Gianfranco|date = 5 July 2021| publisher=Springer |access-date = 28 January 2022|archive-date = 28 January 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220128064724/https://books.google.com/books?id=TQo3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA190|url-status = live}}</ref> Reconciliation Committees have replaced the Syrian government court system in several cities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reconciliation Committee Solves 1977 cases in Serekaniye |url=http://en.hawarnews.com/reconciliation-committee-solves-1977-cases-in-serekaniye/ |access-date=19 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222130951/http://en.hawarnews.com/reconciliation-committee-solves-1977-cases-in-serekaniye/ |archive-date=22 December 2015 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Committees are representative of the ethnic diversity in their respective area. For example, the committee in Tal Abyad has Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and Armenians.<ref>{{cite web|title=Reconciliation Committee replaces courts in Girê Spî|url=http://en.hawarnews.com/reconciliation-committee-replaces-courts-in-gire-spi/|access-date=19 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419214429/http://en.hawarnews.com/reconciliation-committee-replaces-courts-in-gire-spi/|archive-date=19 April 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Women's rights===

====Women’s revolution in Rojava====
[[Place:Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria|Rojava]] is famous for its attempt at overcoming gender inequality and improving women's rights.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Burç |first=Rosa |date=2020 |title=Non-territorial autonomy and gender equality: The case of the autonomous administration of north and east Syria - Rojava |url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?ID=0353-57382003319B |journal=Filozofija I Drustvo |language=en |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=319–339 |doi=10.2298/FID2003319B |s2cid=226412887 |issn=0353-5738 |access-date=27 March 2023 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327203037/https://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?ID=0353-57382003319B |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> In the Rojava Revolution, women's participation has achieved a lot of media attention in recent years. A lot of Kurdish women bound their power, gathered their weapons, and served in the mobile company of the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) on the front line in Syria.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rojava revolution |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/rojava-revolution/ |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=openDemocracy |language=en |archive-date=21 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221052628/https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/evangelos-aretaios/rojava-revolution |url-status=live }}</ref> The revolution in Rojava is mainly caused by the underlying dominant ideology, namely a secular egalitarian [[Philosophy:Ideology|ideology]].<ref name="journals.sagepub.com">{{Cite journal |last1=Haner |first1=Murat |last2=Cullen |first2=Francis T. |last3=Benson |first3=Michael L. |date=September 2020 |title=Women and the PKK: Ideology, Gender, and Terrorism |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1057567719826632 |journal=International Criminal Justice Review |language=en |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=279–301 |doi=10.1177/1057567719826632 |s2cid=150900998 |issn=1057-5677 |access-date=27 March 2023 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203171448/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1057567719826632 |url-status=live }}</ref> Influenced by the ideology of Abdullah Öcalan, women have taken up their arms and have been fighting for a liberated [[Place:Kurdistan|Kurdistan]]. Ideologies that include an active fight for gender equality lead to the equal inclusion of women in military positions.<ref name="journals.sagepub.com"/>

Within the Kurdish forces, and especially regarding its leadership positions, there is an unprecedentedly high prevalence of female fighters.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Reed M |last2=Thomas |first2=Jakana L |date=January 2017 |title=Women on the frontline: Rebel group ideology and women's participation in violent rebellion |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022343316675025 |journal=Journal of Peace Research |language=en |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=31–46 |doi=10.1177/0022343316675025 |s2cid=152263427 |issn=0022-3433 |access-date=27 March 2023 |archive-date=25 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125202134/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022343316675025 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> The YPJ is a unique case where women embody a substantial part of the overall military force. The traditional belief, that combat is a male-dominated area and women simply are victims of that fact, is thereby compromised.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

====Underlying ideology: Jineology====
A strong political ideology, namely the Democratic Autonomy concept of Abdullah Öcalan, has had a major impact on female empowerment.<ref name=":0"/> Öcalan, political activist and founder of the PKK, has the belief that a society needs to make decisions with consent from all members.<ref name="Öcalan 2017">{{Cite book |last=Öcalan |first=Abdullah |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1n7qkks |title=The Political Thought of Abdullah Öcalan: Kurdistan, Woman's Revolution and Democratic Confederalism |date=2017 |publisher=Pluto Press |isbn=978-0-7453-9977-5 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1n7qkks |jstor=j.ctt1n7qkks |access-date=29 March 2023 |archive-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329114853/https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1n7qkks |url-status=live }}</ref> A nation should be based on this kind of [[Social:Democracy|democracy]], as well as ecology and women's freedom.<ref name="Öcalan 2017"/> Öcalan brought the concept of [[Earth:Democratic confederalism|democratic confederalism]] to life, which encouraged a move away from [[Biology:Patriarchy|patriarchal]] nationalism.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Düzgün |first=Meral |date=2016-07-01 |title=Jineology |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/15525864-3507749 |journal=Journal of Middle East Women's Studies |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=284–287 |doi=10.1215/15525864-3507749 |s2cid=151783142 |issn=1552-5864 |access-date=29 March 2023 |archive-date=13 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413044307/https://read.dukeupress.edu/jmews/article-abstract/12/2/284/42974/JineologyThe-Kurdish-Women-s-Movement?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live }}</ref> Within this concept, [[Social:Feminism|feminism]], specifically jineology (the science of women), is central to the social revolution taking place in [[Place:Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria|Rojava]]. The Democratic Autonomy concept has been modified to the ongoing conflict in Syria.<ref name=":0" /> All YPG and YPJ fighters and Asayish have the study of jineology as part of their training, and it is also taught in community centers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Argentieri |first1=Benedetta |date=30 July 2015 |title=These female Kurdish soldiers wear their femininity with pride |url=http://qz.com/467159/these-female-kurdish-soldiers-wear-their-femininity-with-pride/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408015823/https://qz.com/467159/these-female-kurdish-soldiers-wear-their-femininity-with-pride/ |archive-date=8 April 2017 |access-date=9 January 2016 |website=}}</ref> In 2017, the [[Organization:University of Rojava|University of Rojava]] established the department of Jineology integrated in Languages and Social Studies Faculty.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jineology: Knowledge, experience, and science of women-2 |url=https://jinhaagency.com/en/feature/jineology-knowledge-experience-and-science-of-women-2-28495 |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=JINHAGENCY News |language=en}}</ref> The aim was to "teach the reality of life and women and redefine them and achieve changes in the mentality of the society".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Department of Jineology(Women's Science ) {{!}} |url=https://www.rojavauni.com/en/department-of-jineologywomens-science/ |access-date=2023-05-09 |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Legal revolution====
Aside from the military victories, [[Place:Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria|Rojava]] is the witness of a legal revolution. Since the war broke out there have been multiple legal changes regarding women's rights.<ref name=":2"/> In the Social Contract of the Autonomous Regions of Kobane, Jazira and Afrin, formulated in 2014, it is stated that women and men have the same rights.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Political System: Documents – Rojava Information Center |url=https://rojavainformationcenter.com/background/political-system-documents/ |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=rojavainformationcenter.com |language=en-GB |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404155408/https://rojavainformationcenter.com/background/political-system-documents/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Much of the focus of the revolution has been on addressing the extreme levels of [[Social:Violence against women|violence]] which women in the area have endured,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Üstündağ |first1=Nazan |title=Self-Defense as a Revolutionary Practice in Rojava, or How to Unmake the State |journal=South Atlantic Quarterly |volume=115 |issue=1 |pages=197–210 |date=2016 |doi=10.1215/00382876-3425024 |s2cid=147434474 |issn=0038-2876 }}</ref> as well as increasing women's leadership in all political institutions. To illustrate, the authority of Rojava has come up with an initiative to install a 40% quote representation of women in every organization and institution.<ref name=":2"/><ref name="gender">{{cite news |last1=Owen |first1=Margaret |title=Gender and justice in an emerging nation: My impressions of Rojava, Syrian Kurdistan |newspaper=Ceasefire Magazine |date=11 February 2014 |url=https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/gender-justice-emerging-nation-impressions-rojava-syrian-kurdistan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126072749/https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/gender-justice-emerging-nation-impressions-rojava-syrian-kurdistan/ |archive-date=26 January 2016 |access-date=9 January 2016}}</ref> This has the consequence that in every layer of government, from a local organization to the parliament, women must be assigned as vice presidents or co-presidents.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The Rojava revolution |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/rojava-revolution/ |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=openDemocracy |language=en |archive-date=21 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221052628/https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/evangelos-aretaios/rojava-revolution |url-status=live }}</ref> Also, efforts are being made to reduce cases of [[Social:Child marriage|underage marriage]], [[Religion:Polygamy|polygamy]] and honor killings, both socially as well as through legislation forbidding these practices.<ref>{{cite web|title=Syrian Kurds give women equal rights, snubbing jihadists|url=https://news.yahoo.com/syrian-kurds-women-equal-rights-snubbing-jihadists-193905057.html|website=Yahoo News|access-date=9 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116081034/http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-kurds-women-equal-rights-snubbing-jihadists-193905057.html|archive-date=16 November 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Women’s Protection Unit (YPJ) ====

====Women's houses====

In every town and village under YPG control, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children.<ref name="gender" /> Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses.<ref>{{cite web |title=Revolution in Rojava transformed the perception of women in the society |url=http://www.sosyalistfeministkolektif.org/english/928-revolution-in-rojava-transformed-the-perception-of-women-in-the-society.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101162717/http://sosyalistfeministkolektif.org/english/928-revolution-in-rojava-transformed-the-perception-of-women-in-the-society.html |archive-date=1 January 2016 |access-date=9 January 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Religious freedom===
The right to religious expression is also safeguarded in the constitution. This, as well as the extreme hostility towards religious minorities in Islamist controlled areas, has led to a large migration of religious minorities to Rojava.<ref>{{cite web |title=Joint statement to the academic delegation at Rojava |url=http://roarmag.org/2015/01/statement-academic-delegation-rojava/ |date=15 January 2015 |access-date=3 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907084100/http://roarmag.org/2015/01/statement-academic-delegation-rojava/ |archive-date=7 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Relations and conflicts==
[[File:Syrian civil war 01 12 2015.png|thumb|250px|Military situation in December 2015]]
There are four major forces involved in the Rojava revolution. The People's Protection Units are working with the PYD and other political parties to establish self-rule in Rojava. Syrian government forces still maintain rule in some areas of Rojava under the leadership of the Assad government. A collection of Sunni Islamist forces, the largest being the [[Religion:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL), fought to rule the region by way of [[Religion:Islamic fundamentalism|Islamic fundamentalism]]. Finally, there were several militias under the general banner of the Free Syrian Army whose intentions and alliances have differed and shifted over time.

===Rojava–Syrian government relations and conflicts===

While conflict between the YPG and the Syrian government has not been as active as fighting against Islamist forces, there have been several conflicts between the two forces. Territory once controlled by the Syrian government in both [[Place:Qamishli|Qamishli]] and [[Place:Al-Hasakah|al-Hasakah]] has been taken over by YPG forces. At the end of April 2016, clashes erupted between government forces and YPG fighters for control of Qamishli.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.voanews.com/media/video/3297343.html|title=Fighting Escalates in Syria's Qamishli|date=21 April 2016 |access-date=7 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722001853/http://www.voanews.com/media/video/3297343.html|archive-date=22 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

As of the beginning of August 2016, YPG fighters controlled two-thirds of the northeastern city of al-Hasakah, while pro-government militias controlled the remainder. On 17 August 2016, heavy clashes broke out between YPG fighters and the pro-government militias, resulting in the deaths of four civilians, four Kurdish fighters, and three government loyalists. On 18 August, Syrian government aircraft bombed YPG positions in Hasakah, including three YPG checkpoints and three YPG bases. Syrian Kurds had recently demanded that the pro-government National Defense Forces militia disband in al-Hasakah. A government source told the AFP that the air strikes were "a message to the Kurds that they should stop this sort of demand that constitutes an affront to national sovereignty".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrian-regime-forces-bomb-kurds-in-north-for-first-time.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102997&NewsCatID=352|title=MIDEAST - Syrian regime forces bomb Kurds in north for first time|date=18 August 2016 |access-date=18 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819050721/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrian-regime-forces-bomb-kurds-in-north-for-first-time.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102997&NewsCatID=352|archive-date=19 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Another possible factor behind the fighting may have been the recent thaw in Turkish–Russian relations that began in July 2016; Russia, a key ally of the Syrian government, had previously been supporting Syrian Kurdish forces as a means to apply pressure to Turkey. After the recent territorial defeat of ISIL in Syria and Iraq and improvements in the Turkish–Russian relationship, it is possible that Russia and its allies began to view a strong YPG as increasingly less useful.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/22/kurdish-militias-fight-syrian-forces-hasaka|title=Kurdish militias fight against Syrian forces in north-east city of Hasaka|last=Hawramy|first=Fazel|date=22 August 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|access-date=22 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822121230/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/22/kurdish-militias-fight-syrian-forces-hasaka|archive-date=22 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In response to the attacks by the Syrian aircraft on Kurdish positions near al-Hasakah, the United States scrambled planes over the city in order to deter further attacks.<ref name="auto"/>

By 22 August, Syrian government troops, Hezbollah fighters, and members of the Iranian paramilitary Basij militia had become involved in the fighting against Kurdish forces in al-Hasakah.<ref name="auto" />

In October 2023, in response to a series drone strikes on U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq, the Kurdish forces fight Syrian militias. 3 Kurdish militiamen and 19 Syrian militiamen were killed while 20 Syrian militiamen were injured.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/291020231|title=26 killed in clash between SDF, pro-Syrian regime armed group|date=2023-10-30|website=Rudaw}}</ref>

===Internal relations and conflicts in Rojava===
<!--Merged from Rojava revolution internal conflict as per AfD-->

On 28 December 2012, Syrian government forces opened fire on pro-FSA demonstrators in [[Place:Al-Hasakah|al-Hasakah]] city, killing and wounding several individuals. Arab tribes in the area attacked YPG positions in the city in reprisal, stating the Kurdish fighters were collaborating with the government. Clashes broke out, and three Arabs were killed, though it was not clear whether they were killed by YPG forces or nearby government troops.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2728&z=en&cure=1009|title=Al-Hasakah: Deadly clashes between Arab tribes and PYD|date=9 January 2013|publisher=KurdWatch|access-date=5 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728074524/http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2728&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Demonstrations were organised by various Kurdish groups throughout northeastern Syria in late December as well. PYD supporters drove vehicles at low speeds through a KNC demonstration in Qamishli, raising tensions between the two groups.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2726&z=en&cure=1009|title=Al-Qamishli: PYD provokes supporters of the Kurdish National Council|date=4 January 2013|publisher=KurdWatch|access-date=5 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728083311/http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2726&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

From 2 to 4 January, PYD-led demonstrators staged protests in the al-Antariyah neighbourhood of Qamishli, demanding "freedom and democracy" for both Kurds and Syrians. Many activists camped out on site. On 4 January, approximately 10,000 people were participating in the rallies, which also included smaller numbers of supporters of other Kurdish parties,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2730&z=en&cure=1009|title=Al-Qamishli: Youth groups organize three-day rally|date=10 January 2013|publisher=KurdWatch|access-date=5 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728085150/http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2730&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> such as the KNC, which staged a rally in the Munir Habib neighbourhood. PYD organisers had planned for 100,000 people to participate, but such support did not materialise. The demonstrations were concurrent with rallies conducted across the country by the Arab opposition, though Kurdish parties did not use the same slogans as the Arabs, and also did not the same slogans amongst their own parties. Kurds also demonstrated in several other towns, but not across the entire Kurdish region.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2731&z=en&cure=1009|title=Al-Qamishli: PYD fails in attempt to mobilize one hundred thousand demonstrators|date=10 January 2013|publisher=KurdWatch|access-date=5 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728084137/http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2731&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

Meanwhile, several armed incidents occurred between the dominant PYD-YPG and other Kurdish parties in the region, particularly the Kurdish Union ("Yekîtî") Party, part of a Kurdish political coalition called the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union formed on 15 December 2012, which excludes the PYD.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2727&z=en&cure=1009|title=Al-Qamishli: Kurdish Democratic Political Union—Syria established|date=7 January 2013|publisher=KurdWatch|access-date=5 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728090328/http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2727&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> On 3 January, PYD gunmen staged a drive-by shooting on a Yekîtî office in Qamishli. Armed Yekîtî members returned fire, injuring one PYD member.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2732&z=en&cure=1009|title=Al-Qamishli: Shots exchanged between PYD and Yekîtî|date=12 January 2013|publisher=KurdWatch|access-date=5 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728073555/http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2732&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The same day, armed clashes broke out between YPG fighters and members of the newly formed Jiwan Qatna Battalion of Yekîtî in ad-Darbasiyah. Four Yekîtî members were abducted by the YPG, who said they were affiliated with Islamist groups, though Yekîtî activists stated that the PYD wanted to prevent other Kurdish groups from arming themselves. Following demonstrations in the town demanding their release and an intervention by the KNC, the four men were released by the end of the day.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2734&z=en&cure=1009|title=Ad-Darbasiyah: YPG abducts armed Yekîtî members|date=15 January 2013|publisher=KurdWatch|access-date=5 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728090103/http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2734&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> On 11 January, YPG forces raided an empty Yekîtî training ground near Ali Faru which had been built in early January, tearing down both the Kurdish and FSA flags that had been flying at the base. Though PYD members defended the raid by saying that the flags could have attracted government airstrikes, Yekîtî condemned the action.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2738&z=en&cure=1009|title=Al-Qamishli: YPG storms Yekîtî military drill ground|date=20 January 2013|publisher=KurdWatch|access-date=5 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728083531/http://www.kurdwatch.org/index.php?aid=2738&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Situation in Syria (August 2018).svg|thumb|Military situation in August 2018]]
On 31 January, Kamal Mustafa Hanan, editor-in-chief of Newroz (a Kurdish-language journal) and a former Yekîtî politician, was fatally shot in the Ashrafiyah district of Aleppo. It was not clear if he was the victim of a stray bullet or of a politically motivated assassination. Yekîtî organised a funeral procession in the town of Afrin in the Kurdish-held northwest corner of Aleppo Province on 1 February, which members of both the PYD and KNC attended.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/?aid=2752&z=en&cure=1009|title=Aleppo: Kurdish politician and writer fatally shot|date=7 February 2013|publisher=KurdWatch|access-date=10 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728090320/http://www.kurdwatch.org/?aid=2752&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Also on 1 February, Kurds staged demonstrations in several towns and villages across West Kurdistan concurrent with opposition demonstrations elsewhere in the country. The demonstrations were organised by various Kurdish groups, including the PYD and KNC. Demonstrators from the KNC demanded an end to fighting in Ras al-Ayn and the withdrawal of armed groups from the town, while PYD demonstrators stressed solidarity with their YPG units and the Kurdish Supreme Council.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/?aid=2753&z=en&cure=1009|title=Al-Qamishli: More demonstrations in the Kurdish regions|date=7 February 2013|publisher=Kurd Watch|access-date=10 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728083251/http://www.kurdwatch.org/?aid=2753&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

From 2 to 5 February, YPG forces blockaded the village of Kahf al-Assad ({{lang-ku|Banê Şikeftê}}), inhabited by members of the Kurdish Kherikan tribe, after being fired upon by unknown gunmen in the village. YPG checkpoints were also established around other Kherikan villages. The Kherikan are traditionally supporters of the Massoud Barzani government of [[Place:Iraqi Kurdistan|Iraqi Kurdistan]], and as oppose the PYD. The blockade was the third time in two years that hostilities had broken out between the PYD/YPG and locals from Kahf al-Assad.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/?aid=2754&z=en&cure=1009|title=Al-Malikiyah: YPG ends siege of Kahf al‑Assad|date=11 February 2013|publisher=KurdWatch|access-date=13 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728074450/http://www.kurdwatch.org/?aid=2754&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 7 February, YPG members kidnapped three members of the opposition Azadî party in Ayn al-Arab.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kurdwatch.org/?aid=2755&z=en&cure=1009|title=ʿAyn al-ʿArab: YPG abducts Azadî members|date=13 February 2013|publisher=KurdWatch|access-date=16 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728082512/http://www.kurdwatch.org/?aid=2755&z=en&cure=1009|archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 22 February, Osman Baydemir, mayor of the city of [[Place:Diyarbakır|Diyarbakır]] in Turkey, announced the initiation of a one-month humanitarian aid programme in which his city—along with the surrounding districts of Bağlar, Yenişehir, Kayapınar, and Sur—would provide food assistance to Kurdish areas in Syria affected by the war, which had received little of the humanitarian aid that other regions of Syria had received.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/diyarbakir-mayors-for-kurds-in-syria.htm|title=Diyarbakır mayors for Kurds in Syria|date=22 February 2013|publisher=Firat News|access-date=27 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728074410/http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/diyarbakir-mayors-for-kurds-in-syria.htm|archive-date=28 July 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

On 11 April 2016, PYD supporters attacked the offices of the Kurdish National Council and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria in Derbessiye and Qamishli.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2016/04/12/pyd-increases-attacks-on-other-kurdish-groups-in-syria|work=Daily Sabah|title=PYD increases attacks on other Kurdish groups in Syria|date=12 April 2016|access-date=21 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415090453/http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2016/04/12/pyd-increases-attacks-on-other-kurdish-groups-in-syria|archive-date=15 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The head of the Kurdish National Council told Turkey's TRT World channel the "PYD's oppressive attitude in Syria is forcing Kurds to leave the region".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailysabah.com/war-on-terror/2016/11/27/kurds-fleeing-syria-due-to-totalitarian-pyds-terror-acts-oppressive-attitude|work=Daily Sabah|title=Kurds fleeing Syria due to 'totalitarian' PYD's terror acts, oppressive attitude|date=28 November 2016|access-date=28 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128133846/http://www.dailysabah.com/war-on-terror/2016/11/27/kurds-fleeing-syria-due-to-totalitarian-pyds-terror-acts-oppressive-attitude|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 16 January 2017, more than 270 Syrian Kurdish activists signed an appeal calling for unity talks between the main Syrian Kurdish parties. In response, the Movement for a Democratic Society led by the PYD stated that they welcome unity and called on the Kurdish National Council to participate in federal project. The KNC led by the KDP-S, in response, demanded the release its political prisoners detained in Rojava. The KNC has rejected the federalism project launched by the Syrian Democratic Council and stated that it will participate in the peace talks in [[Place:Astana|Astana]], Kazakhstan, with Turkey and Russia. The Kurdish National Alliance in Syria, part of the SDC also welcomed the proposal of unity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2017/01/despite-calls-unity-syrian-kurds-remain-divided/|title=Despite calls for unity, Syrian Kurds remain divided|work=ARA News|date=19 January 2017|access-date=19 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131194142/http://aranews.net/2017/01/despite-calls-unity-syrian-kurds-remain-divided/|archive-date=31 January 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 3 February 2017, amidst clashes between the KDP-S-affiliated Peshmerga group and the Sinjar Resistance Units in Sinjar, a KNC office was burned in Qamishli and another attacked in Dirbêsiyê. The KNC said the pro-PYD youth group the Ciwanen Soresger was perpetrating the attacks. However, the perpetrators were reportedly arrested by the Asayish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2017/03/after-kurdish-tensions-in-sinjar-knc-offices-in-rojava-under-attack/|title=After Kurdish tensions in Sinjar, KNC offices in Rojava under attack|work=ARA News|date=5 March 2017|access-date=5 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305114537/http://aranews.net/2017/03/after-kurdish-tensions-in-sinjar-knc-offices-in-rojava-under-attack/|archive-date=5 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Claimed and de facto territory of Rojava.png|thumb|SDF-controlled territory (green) and Turkish-occupied territory (red) in October 2019]]
On 3 March 2017, the Rojava Asayish arrested more than 40 members of the KNC in Syria while the KDP Asayish arrested 23 opposition protesters in Iraqi Kurdistan. 17 of them were later released but 6 were still imprisoned. By 16 March, more than 13 KNC offices and an Assyrian Democratic Organization office in Rojava were shut down by Rojava Asayish forces, reportedly for failing to register with PYD authorities. In response, the Human Rights Watch called on both sides to "immediately" release all "arbitrarily held political detainees".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2017/03/human-rights-watch-calls-syrian-kurds-krg-release-political-prisoners/|title=Human Rights Watch calls on Syrian Kurds and KRG to release political prisoners|work=ARA News|date=19 March 2017|access-date=19 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319011101/http://aranews.net/2017/03/human-rights-watch-calls-syrian-kurds-krg-release-political-prisoners/|archive-date=19 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Mesopotamia National Council announced their support for TEV-DEM's requirement for parties to apply to licenses to operate in Rojava. However, the council also called for the self-management to give sufficient time for applications and denounced "random" closing of the parties' offices.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.syriacsnews.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%84%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%88%D9%85%D9%8A-%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%AB-%D9%86%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%8B-%D8%A8/|title=THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF BETH NAHRIN ISSUED A STATEMENT REGARDING THE CLOSURE OF UNLICENSED PARTY OFFICES|work=Syriac International News Agency|date=17 March 2017|access-date=19 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320052228/http://www.syriacsnews.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%84%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%88%D9%85%D9%8A-%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%AB-%D9%86%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%8B-%D8%A8/|archive-date=20 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 3 April 2017, the Kurdish National Council called on the PYD to release 4 of its detainees: a Kurdish Future Movement in Syria member, a Kurdish Youth Movement member, and two KDP-S members. As of the same day, 6 detainees were still held by Iraqi Kurdish authorities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2017/04/kurdish-national-council-calls-pyd-release-political-prisoners/|title=Kurdish National Council calls on PYD to release political prisoners|work=ARA News|date=4 April 2017|access-date=4 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404220048/http://aranews.net/2017/04/kurdish-national-council-calls-pyd-release-political-prisoners/|archive-date=4 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 12 April 2017, an official in TEV-DEM met with Gabriel Moushe Gawrieh, head of the Assyrian Democratic Organization, and discussed the closure of the latter's offices since March. It was the first time TEV-DEM officials met with the ADO.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aranews.net/2017/04/assyrian-faction-linked-syrian-opposition-meets-kurdish-tev-dem-office-closure/|title=Assyrian faction linked to Syrian opposition meets with Kurdish TEV-DEM after office closure|work=ARA News|author=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|date=13 April 2017|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415183332/http://aranews.net/2017/04/assyrian-faction-linked-syrian-opposition-meets-kurdish-tev-dem-office-closure/|archive-date=15 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict===
[[File:Northern Syria offensive (2015).png|thumb|200px|Changes of territorial control in the YPG's June 2015 offensive]]
[[File:Northern_Raqqa_Offensive_(November_2016).svg|thumb|200px|2016/17 Raqqa campaign]]
[[File:YPJ fighters Raqqa (February 2017).jpg|thumb|Kurdish YPJ fighters during the Raqqa offensive against ISIL in February 2017]]

The Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict is a major theater in the Syrian Civil War, starting in 2013 after fighting erupted between the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Islamist rebel factions in the city of Ras al-Ayn. Kurdish forces launched a campaign in an attempt to take control of the Islamist-controlled areas in the governorate of [[Place:Al-Hasakah Governorate|al-Hasakah]] and some parts of [[Place:Raqqa Governorate|Raqqa]] and Aleppo governorates after [[Religion:Al-Nusra Front|al-Qaeda in Syria]] used those areas to attack the YPG. The Kurdish groups and their allies' goal was also to capture Kurdish areas from the Arab Islamist rebels and strengthen the autonomy of the region of [[Place:Rojava|Rojava]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/824383/syrie-les-kurdes-combattent-les-jihadistes-pour-imposer-leur-autonomie.html|title=Syrie: les Kurdes combattent les jihadistes pour imposer leur autonomie - Dernières Infos - L'Orient-Le Jour|work=L'Orient-Le Jour|date=19 July 2013|access-date=5 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006121200/http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/824383/syrie-les-kurdes-combattent-les-jihadistes-pour-imposer-leur-autonomie.html|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

YPG forces as well as later the broader Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have clashed heavily with Islamist forces of all stripes in the following years, in particular with those representing the [[Religion:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL). Including the Siege of Kobanî (2014), the Al-Hasakah offensive (February–March 2015), the Al-Hasakah offensive (May 2015), the Tell Abyad offensive (May–July 2015), the Battle of Sarrin (June–July 2015), the Battle of Al-Hasakah (June–August 2015), and the Raqqa campaign (2016–present) including the Battle of Tabqa (2017).

===Rojava–Turkey conflict===

Turkey has long called the PYD as a Syrian extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and has therefore taken a hardline stance against the group, the official talking point being that it would not allow a Kurdish state to form along their southern border with Syria. Turkey's policy towards Rojava is based on an economic blockade,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2016-10-14/rojava-model|title=The Rojava Model|author=Meredith Tax|magazine=Foreign Affairs|date=14 October 2016|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329093442/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2016-10-14/rojava-model|archive-date=29 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> persistent attempts of international isolation,<ref name=OIC>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.tr/speech-by-h_e_-mevlut-cavusoglu_-minister-of-foreign-affairs-of-the-republic-of-turkey-at-the-meeting-of-council-of-foreign-mini.en.mfa|title=From Rep. of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs|website=Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205011325/http://www.mfa.gov.tr/speech-by-h_e_-mevlut-cavusoglu_-minister-of-foreign-affairs-of-the-republic-of-turkey-at-the-meeting-of-council-of-foreign-mini.en.mfa|archive-date=5 December 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> opposition to the cooperation of the international Anti-ISIL-coalition with Rojava militias,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-erdogan-slams-us-over-ypg-support.aspx?PageID=238&NID=99783&NewsCatID=510|title=Turkish President Erdoğan slams US over YPG support|work=Hurryiet Daily News|date=28 May 2016|access-date=2 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019092032/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-erdogan-slams-us-over-ypg-support.aspx?PageID=238&NID=99783&NewsCatID=510|archive-date=19 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and support of [[Religion:Islamism|Islamist]] Syrian Civil War parties hostile towards Rojava,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lobelog.com/how-can-turkey-overcome-its-foreign-policy-mess/|title=How Can Turkey Overcome Its Foreign Policy Mess?|publisher=Lobolog (Graham E. Fuller)|date=19 February 2016|access-date=28 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719220131/http://lobelog.com/how-can-turkey-overcome-its-foreign-policy-mess/|archive-date=19 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews&#91;tt_news&#93;=44027|title=The Rise of Jaysh al-Fateh in Northern Syria|author=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|publisher=Jamestown Foundation|date=12 June 2015|access-date=28 October 2016|archive-date=11 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311204253/http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews&#91;tt_news&#93;=44027|url-status=live}}</ref> in past times even including ISIL.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/research-paper-isis-turke_b_6128950.html|title=Research Paper: ISIS-Turkey Links|author=David L. Phillips|publisher=Huffington Post|date=11 September 2014|access-date=28 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190303075757/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/research-paper-isis-turke_b_6128950.html|archive-date=3 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/links-between-turkey-and-isis-are-now-undeniable-2015-7|title=Senior Western official: Links between Turkey and ISIS are now 'undeniable'|publisher=Businessinsider|date=28 July 2015|access-date=28 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327111927/https://www.businessinsider.com/links-between-turkey-and-isis-are-now-undeniable-2015-7|archive-date=27 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.meforum.org/5317/turkey-isis|title=Turkey's Double Game with ISIS|author=Burak Bekdil|journal=Middle East Quarterly|date=Summer 2015|access-date=28 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703223503/https://www.meforum.org/5317/turkey-isis|archive-date=3 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Turkey has on several occasions been militarily attacking Rojava territory and defence forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/27/turkey-shells-kurdish-held-village-in-syria|title=Turkey accused of shelling Kurdish-held village in Syria|work=The Guardian|date=27 July 2015|access-date=9 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327091020/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/27/turkey-shells-kurdish-held-village-in-syria|archive-date=27 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/02/turkey-bombs-kurdish-city-of-afrin-northern-syria-civilian-casualties-reported/|title=Turkey strikes Kurdish city of Afrin northern Syria, civilian casualties reported|publisher=Ara News|date=19 February 2016|access-date=9 June 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103054447/http://aranews.net/2016/02/turkey-bombs-kurdish-city-of-afrin-northern-syria-civilian-casualties-reported/|archive-date=3 November 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://europe.newsweek.com/turkeys-syria-intervention-sign-weakness-not-strength-501516|title=Turkey's Syria Intervention: A Sign of Weakness Not Strength|author=Christopher Phillips|work=Newsweek|date=22 September 2016|access-date=28 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927005531/http://europe.newsweek.com/turkeys-syria-intervention-sign-weakness-not-strength-501516|archive-date=27 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The latter has resulted in some of the most clearcut instances of international solidarity with Rojava.<ref name=Tastekin>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/turkey-syria-intervention-wreck-arab-kurdish-alliance.html|title=US backing ensures Arab-Kurd alliance in Syria will survive|author=Fehim Taştekin|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=9 September 2016|access-date=28 October 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909181341/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/turkey-syria-intervention-wreck-arab-kurdish-alliance.html|archive-date=9 September 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iraqinews.com/baghdad-politics/germany-warns-turkey-attacking-kurds-syria/|title=Germany warns Turkey from attacking Kurds in Syria|work=Iraqi News|date=28 August 2016|access-date=10 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514224445/https://www.iraqinews.com/baghdad-politics/germany-warns-turkey-attacking-kurds-syria/|archive-date=14 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/10/statement-by-sasc-chairman-john-mccain-on-turkish-government-attacks-on-syrian-kurds|title=Statement by SASC Chairman John McCain on Turkish Government Attacks on Syrian Kurds|author=U.S. Senator John McCain, Chairman of the United States Senate Armed Services Committee|date=27 October 2016|access-date=10 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013203735/https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/10/statement-by-sasc-chairman-john-mccain-on-turkish-government-attacks-on-syrian-kurds|archive-date=13 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Turkey received PYD co-chair Salih Muslim for talks in 2013<ref>{{cite web|title=PYD leader arrives in Turkey for two-day talks: Report|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pyd-leader-arrives-in-turkey-for-two-day-talks-report.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51439&NewsCatID=338|work=Hurriyet Daily News|date=25 July 2013|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019124029/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pyd-leader-arrives-in-turkey-for-two-day-talks-report.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51439&NewsCatID=338|archive-date=19 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and in 2014,<ref>{{cite web|title=Syrian Kurdish leader holds secret talks in Turkey: reports|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/syrian-kurdish-leader-holds-secret-talks-turkey-reports-140034309.html|publisher=Yahoo|date=5 October 2014|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019165816/https://www.yahoo.com/news/syrian-kurdish-leader-holds-secret-talks-turkey-reports-140034309.html|archive-date=19 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> even entertaining the idea of opening a Rojava representation office in [[Place:Ankara|Ankara]] "if it's suitable with Ankara's policies".<ref>{{cite web|title=Salih Muslim's trip to Turkey and Incirlik Base|url=http://www.yenisafak.com/en/columns/abdulkadirselvi/salih-muslims-trip-to-turkey-and-incirlik-base-2015919|publisher=Yeni Safak|date=7 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122221304/http://www.yenisafak.com/en/columns/abdulkadirselvi/salih-muslims-trip-to-turkey-and-incirlik-base-2015919|archive-date=22 November 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Turkey recognizes the PYD and the YPG militia as identical to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/the-ypg-pkk-connection|title=The YPG-PKK Connection|publisher=Atlantic Council|date=26 January 2016|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042315/https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2016/01/27/ypg-pkk-connection-spells-u-s-turkey-friction|archive-date=1 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33690060|title=Turkey v Syria's Kurds v Islamic State|work=BBC News|date=23 August 2016|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214052459/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33690060|archive-date=14 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/daesh-feto-ypg-pkk-shabab-terrorist-groups-are-all-the-same-2557522|title=Daesh, FETÖ, YPG, PKK, Shabab terrorist groups are all the same|work=Yeni Şefak|date=2 November 2016|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106010410/http://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/daesh-feto-ypg-pkk-shabab-terrorist-groups-are-all-the-same-2557522|archive-date=6 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-british-ypg-terrorist-syria-874419624|title=British volunteers in Syrian Kurd forces are 'terrorists', Turkey says|work=Middle East Eye|date=1 September 2016|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220123907/http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-british-ypg-terrorist-syria-874419624|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the [[Social:European Union|European Union]], the United States and others. However, the EU, the US, and others cooperate with the PYD and the YPG militia in the fight against the [[Religion:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIL) and do not designate either a terrorist organisation.<ref name=YpgState>{{cite web|title=U.S. says YPG not a terrorist organization|date=23 September 2015|url=http://aranews.net/2015/09/u-s-says-ypg-not-a-terrorist-organization/|publisher=ARA News|access-date=22 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305005711/http://aranews.net/2015/09/u-s-says-ypg-not-a-terrorist-organization/|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> About its loss in international standing, the consequence of domestic and foreign policies of [[Biography:Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]], the Turkish government is contemptuous.<ref>{{cite web|title=Turkey's domestic policy losing its foreign friends|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-with-fewer-friends-than-ever.html|publisher=Al Monitor|date=8 November 2016|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112172513/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-with-fewer-friends-than-ever.html|archive-date=12 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Erdogan muddies Syrian and Iraqi political waters|url=https://www.ft.com/content/75d9710e-a02b-11e6-86d5-4e36b35c3550|work=Financial Times|date=1 November 2016|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218074540/https://www.ft.com/content/75d9710e-a02b-11e6-86d5-4e36b35c3550|archive-date=18 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Only Problems. How Turkey Can Become an Honest Mediator in the Middle East, Again|url=http://www.kas.de/wf/en/33.46609/|author1=Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Bağcı|author2=Dr. Çağlar Kurç|publisher=Konrad Adenauer Stiftung|date=10 October 2016|access-date=9 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110105626/http://www.kas.de/wf/en/33.46609/|archive-date=10 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The Turkish foreign minister called the PYD a "terrorist organisation" in his speech at the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers of the 13th Islamic Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on 12 April 2016 at Istanbul, Turkey.<ref name=OIC/> In November 2016 a state-run media organization of Turkey, ''Anadolu Agency'', stated that the educational institutions of Rojava had "prejudice against Islam".<ref>{{cite web|title=PKK/PYD indoctrinating schoolchildren in N.Syria|url=http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/pkk-pyd-indoctrinating-schoolchildren-in-nsyria/690266|agency=Anadolu Agency|date=21 November 2016|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125045843/http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/pkk-pyd-indoctrinating-schoolchildren-in-nsyria/690266|archive-date=25 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said there were links between the PYD, the YPG, and the PKK.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=98499&NewsCatID=358|title=US defense chief admits links among PYD, YPG, PKK - AMERICAS|date=29 April 2016 |access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220152234/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=238&nID=98499&NewsCatID=358|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2016/04/28/pentagon-chief-carter-confirms-link-between-ypgpyd-and-pkk-terrorist-organization|title=Pentagon chief Carter confirms link between YPG/PYD and PKK terrorist organization|website=Daily Sabah|date=28 April 2016|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231163102/http://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2016/04/28/pentagon-chief-carter-confirms-link-between-ypgpyd-and-pkk-terrorist-organization|archive-date=31 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aa.com.tr/en/world/us-defense-chief-admits-pyd-ypg-pkk-link/563332|title=US defense chief admits PYD, YPG, PKK link|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104143939/http://aa.com.tr/en/world/us-defense-chief-admits-pyd-ypg-pkk-link/563332|archive-date=4 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Secretary Carter replied, "Yes," to a Senate panel when Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) asked whether he believed the Syrian Kurds are "aligned or at least have substantial ties to the PKK".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/16-51_04-28-16.pdf |title=Stenographic Transcript Before the COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES UNITED STATES SENATE HEARING TO RECEIVE TESTIMONY ON COUNTER-ISIL (ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND THE LEVANT) OPERATIONS AND MIDDLE EAST STRATEGY |page=99 |access-date=20 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228112539/http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/16-51_04-28-16.pdf |archive-date=28 December 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Rojava and YPG leaders state that the PKK is a separate organization.<ref name="Ivan Watson and Gul Tuysuz">{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/29/world/us-newest-allies-syrian-kurds/index.html|title=Meet America's newest allies: Syria's Kurdish minority|author=Ivan Watson and Gul Tuysuz|date=29 October 2014|publisher=CNN|access-date=22 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625085202/http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/29/world/us-newest-allies-syrian-kurds/index.html|archive-date=25 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> YPG representatives have persistently reiterated that their militia has an all Syrian agenda and no agenda of hostility whatsoever towards Turkey.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-syria-euphrates-from-kurdish-perspective.html|title=A look at battle for Raqqa from a Kurdish perspective|publisher=Al Monitor|date=8 November 2016|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220100715/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/11/turkey-syria-euphrates-from-kurdish-perspective.html|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> However, according to the Turkish ''Daily Sabah'', at one occasion in January 2016 "a YouTube video has appeared of an English-speaking man, reported to be a fighter from the Democratic Union Party's (PYD) armed wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG) (...) making a call for Westerners to join the ranks of the armed group and conduct terrorist attacks against the Turkish state."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2016/01/28/pydypg-terrorists-call-on-westerners-to-join-group-attack-turkey|title=PYD/YPG terrorists call on Westerners to join group, attack Turkey|website=Daily Sabah|date=28 January 2016|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104144139/http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2016/01/28/pydypg-terrorists-call-on-westerners-to-join-group-attack-turkey|archive-date=4 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In the perception of much of the Turkish public, the Rojava federal project as well as U.S. support for the YPG against ISIL are elements of a wider conspiracy scheme by a "mastermind" with the aim to weaken or even dismember Turkey, in order to prevent its imminent rise as a global power.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Tin-Foil Hats Are Out in Turkey. From Zionist plots to CIA conspiracies, Turkey's favorite pastime is believing that the world is out to get it.|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/09/12/the-tin-foil-hats-are-out-in-turkey/|publisher=Foreign Policy|date=12 September 2016|access-date=11 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109063325/http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/09/12/the-tin-foil-hats-are-out-in-turkey/|archive-date=9 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:YPJ fighters (Afrin February 2018).jpg|thumb|Women's Protection Units (YPJ) fighters in the Afrin Region during the Turkish invasion of Afrin in February 2018]]
Following YPG successes in 2015, including the capture of Tell Abyad, Turkey began targeting YPG forces in northern Syria.<ref name="ypgrojava.com"/> On 16 February 2016, Turkish forces began shelling Kurdish forces in the Afrin District after the SDF took initiative from an SAA offensive and captured rebel-held areas of the Azaz District, including Tell Rifaat and Menagh Airbase. Turkey vowed not to allow the SDF to capture the key border town of Azaz. As a result, 25 Kurdish militants were killed and 197 injured from Turkish artillery fire.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/08/28/world/middleeast/28reuters-mideast-crisis-syria-casualties.html|title=Turkish Air Strikes in Syria Kill 25 Kurdish Militants, Says Military|date=28 August 2016|access-date=7 December 2016|via=The New York Times}}</ref> In early 2016, following the capture of Tishrin Dam, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were allowed to cross the Euphrates River, a proclaimed 'red line' by Turkey. Turkish forces bombed the Kurdish YPG headquarters in Tell Abyad, destroying three armoured vehicles and injuring two Kurdish fighters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/01/17765/|title=Turkey bombs Kurdish headquarters northern Syria - ARA News|work=ARA News|date=20 January 2016|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122085323/http://aranews.net/2016/01/17765/|archive-date=22 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The following day, 21 January 2016, Turkish troops crossed the border into Syria and entered the ISIL-controlled Syrian border town of Jarabulus which the YPG had been planning on capturing as part of an offensive to unite their areas of control into one continuous banner of territory. Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria said Turkish airstrikes hit their bases in Amarneh village near Jarablus on 27 August 2016, after Turkish artillery shelled the positions the day before.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/5b8661606a244e4daebf04c5ca188e84|title=Kurdish-led Syria forces face off with Turkish-backed rebels|website=Associated Press|date=27 August 2016|access-date=7 December 2016|agency=AP|archive-date=28 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328152144/https://apnews.com/5b8661606a244e4daebf04c5ca188e84|url-status=live}}</ref> The Syrian Observatory reported on 27 August 2016, about exchange of gunfire between YPG and the Turkish forces in the countryside north of Hasakah. It is unclear if Turkish forces were on Syrian territory or had fired across the border.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/270820162|title=YPG and Turkey clash in northern Syria|access-date=7 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103145522/http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/270820162|archive-date=3 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2017, U.S. Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said "I have seen absolutely zero evidence that they have been a threat to, or have supported any attacks on, Turkey from Northern Syria over the last two years." The top U.S. commander in the campaign against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stated that the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), the military wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), does not pose a threat to Turkey. "Of those YPG fighters, I’ve talked to their leaders and we’ve watched them operate and they continually reassure us that they have no desire to attack Turkey, that they are not a threat to Turkey, in fact that they desire to have a good working relationship with Turkey."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ypg-no-threat-to-turkey-us-top-general-argues.aspx?PageID=238&NID=110346&NewsCatID=352|title=YPG no threat to Turkey, US top general argues|publisher=Hurriyet Daily News|date=2 March 2017|access-date=4 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305113712/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ypg-no-threat-to-turkey-us-top-general-argues.aspx?PageID=238&NID=110346&NewsCatID=352|archive-date=5 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
*Cities and towns during the Syrian Civil War
*[[Earth:Democratic confederalism|Democratic confederalism]]
*International Freedom Battalion
*Syrian Democratic Forces
*Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present)
*Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
*Kurdish rebellion of 1983
*Kurdish women
* A Modern History of the Kurds by David McDowall

==References==
{{Reflist}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojava conflict (2012-present)}}
[[Category:Islam-related controversies]]

{{Sourceattribution|Rojava conflict}}