View source for People's Defense Units

{{Short description|Mainly-Kurdish militia in Syria}}
{{Redirect|YPG}}
{{Distinguish|Women's Protection Units|People's Defense Forces}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = People's Defense Units
| native_name                   = {{lang|ku|Yekîneyên Parastina Gel (YPG)}} <br />{{lang|ar|{{rlm}}وحدات حماية الشعب{{lrm}}{{lrm}}}}
| image                         = People's Protection Units Flag.svg
| caption                       = Flag of the YPG
| dates                         = 2011–present
| allegiance                    = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kurdish Supreme Committee.svg}} [[Kurdish Supreme Committee]] (2011–2013)<ref name=casualties /><br />{{flagicon image|De facto SA-NES Flag.svg}} [[Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria]] (2013–present)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/13112013|title=PYD announces surprise interim government in Syria's Kurdish regions|publisher=[[Rudaw Media Network|Rudaw]]|access-date=9 October 2014|date=13 November 2013}}</ref><br />
| type                          = [[Paramilitary]]<br />[[Light infantry]]<br />[[Motorized infantry]]
| size                          = 78,000 (Including YPJ, 2017 estimate){{sfnp|Rashid|2018|p=16}}
| command_structure             = {{flagicon image|Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svg}} [[Syrian Democratic Forces]]<!-- affects the field "Part of"-->
| garrison_label                = Garrison
| march                         = 
| battles                       = {{tree list}}
* [[Syrian Civil War]]
** [[Rojava conflict]]
*** [[Rojava conflict#YPG claims territory|2012 Rojava campaign]]
** [[Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016)|Battle of Aleppo]]
*** [[Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016)]]
** [[Al-Hasakah Governorate campaign (2012–13)|Al-Hasaka campaign (2012–13)]]
*** [[Battle of Ras al-Ayn]]
** [[Battle of al-Yaarubiyah]]
** [[Battle of Tell Abyad (2013)]]
** [[Siege of Kobanî]]
** [[Al-Hasakah offensive (February–March 2015)|Al-Hasakah offensive]]
** [[Battle of Sarrin (June–July 2015)|Battle of Sarrin]]
** [[Tell Abyad offensive]]
** [[Battle of Al-Hasakah (June–August 2015)|Battle of Al-Hasakah]]
** [[Al-Hawl offensive]]
** [[Tishrin Dam offensive]]
** [[Al-Shaddadi offensive (2016)|Al-Shaddadi offensive]]
** [[Battle of Tell Abyad (2016)]]
** [[Northern Raqqa offensive (May 2016)|Northern Raqqa offensive]]
** [[Manbij offensive]]
** [[Battle of al-Hasakah (2016)]]
** [[Operation Euphrates Shield]]
** [[Western al-Bab offensive (October–November 2016)]]
** [[Raqqa campaign (2016–2017)]]
** [[Operation Olive Branch]]
** [[Eastern Syria Insurgency]]
** [[Deir ez-Zor offensive (2024)]]
** [[2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria]]
** [[2024 Syrian opposition offensives]]
*** [[Battle of Aleppo (2024)]]
*** [[Operation Dawn of Freedom]]
* [[War in Iraq (2013-2017)]]
** [[December 2014 Sinjar offensive|2014 Sinjar offensive]]
** [[November 2015 Sinjar offensive|2015 Sinjar offensive]]
{{tree list/end}}
| website                       = {{Official website|https://www.ypgrojava.org/}}
| commander1                    = Mahmoud Berkhadan
| commander1_label              = General Commander
| commander2                    = [[Nuri Mahmoud]]
| commander2_label              = Spokesperson
| notable_commanders            = Zainab Afrin
Nalîn Dêrik
Sozdar Dêrik
Serhildan Garisî
Rêdûr Khalil
| identification_symbol         = 
| identification_symbol_label   = Emblem
}}
{{Campaignbox Syrian Civil War}}
{{Campaignbox Rojava Revolution}}

[[File:Claimed and de facto territory of Rojava.png|thumb|210px|SDF-controlled territory (green), claimed territory (orange), [[Turkish occupation of northern Syria|Turkish-occupied Afrin]] (red) in October 2018]]

The '''People's Defense Units''' ('''YPG'''),{{Efn|({{langx|ku|یەکینەیێن پاراستنا گەل|Yekîneyên Parastina Gel}} (YPG) {{IPA-ku|jɛkiːnɛjeːn pɑːɾɑːstɯnɑː ɡɛl|pron|Kmr-Yekîneyên Parastina Gel.oga}}; {{langx|ar|وحدات حماية الشعب|Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb}})}} also called '''People's Protection Units''', is a [[Marxist]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 August 2017 |title=Christian foreign fighters deserting Kurdish YPG in Syria because they're 'damn Reds' |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/christian-foreign-fighters-deserting-kurdish-ypg-syria-because-theyre-damn-reds |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}</ref> US-backed<ref>{{Cite web |title=The People’s Protection Units’ Branding Problem Syrian Kurds and Potential Destabilization in Northeastern Syria |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/May-June-2020/Portzer-Peoples-Protection-Unit/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=Army University Press |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-04 |title=The U.S.-YPG Relationship: U.S. Foreign Policy & the Future of the Kurds in Syria and Turkey - Middle East Policy Council |url=https://mepc.org/commentaries/us-ypg-relationship-us-foreign-policy-future-kurds-syria-and-turkey/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=Middle East Policy Council |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Kurds in Syria|Kurdish]] militant group in [[Syria]] and the primary component of the [[Syrian Democratic Forces]] (SDF).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/ascent-of-the-pyd-and-the-sdf |title=Ascent of the PYD and the SDF |last1=Barfi |first1=Barak |date=April 2016 |publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/02/kurds-turkey-pkk-ypg/470991/|title=Who Exactly Are 'the Kurds'?|first=Steven A.|last=Cook|work=The Atlantic |access-date=16 February 2017|date=25 February 2016}}</ref> 

The YPG mostly consists of [[Kurds]], but also includes Arabs and [[YPG International|foreign volunteers]]; it is closely allied to the [[Syriac Military Council]], an [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] militia. The YPG was formed in 2011. It expanded rapidly in the [[Syrian Civil War]] and came to predominate over other armed Syrian Kurdish groups. A sister militia, the [[Women's Protection Units]] (YPJ), fights alongside them. The YPG is active in the [[Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria]] (Rojava), particularly in [[Syrian Kurdistan|its Kurdish regions]].

In early 2015, the group won a major victory over the [[Islamic State]] (IS) during the [[siege of Kobanî]], where the YPG began to receive air and ground support from the United States and other [[Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve]] militaries. Since then, the YPG has primarily fought against IS, as well as on occasion fighting other [[Syrian opposition|Syrian rebel groups]] and the [[Turkish Armed Forces]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/kurdish-forces-bolster-assad-in-aleppo|title=Kurdish Forces Bolster Assad in Aleppo|publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy|language=en|access-date=17 March 2017 |date=29 July 2016}}</ref> In late 2015, the YPG became part of the SDF, an umbrella group intended to better incorporate Arabs and [[Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian Civil War|minorities]] into the war effort. In 2016–2017, the SDF's [[Raqqa campaign (2016–2017)|Raqqa campaign]] led to the liberation of the city of [[Raqqa]], the Islamic State's ''de facto'' capital. Several western sources have described the YPG as the "most effective" force in fighting IS in Syria.<ref>{{cite news|title=Turkey v Syria's Kurds v Islamic State|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33690060|agency=BBC|date=23 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=US troops wearing YPG patches in Syria|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/us-soldiers-ypg-patches-syria-2016-5|work=Business Insider|date=27 May 2016}}</ref>

According to Turkey<ref>{{Cite web |title=PKK / Rep. of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs |url=https://www.mfa.gov.tr/pkk.en.mfa |access-date=26 May 2022 |website=www.mfa.gov.tr}}</ref> and Qatar,<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 January 2018 |title=Syrian terrorist list produces 163 names and no agreement |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-terrorist-idUSKCN0VQ25E |work=Reuters}}</ref> the YPG is a terrorist organization<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lin |first=Christina |date=2015 |title=Turkey's Double Standard on Terrorism: Accuses BBC of supporting PKK, backs other groups from China, Russia and US |url=https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/193475/370_Lin.pdf |website=Institute for Strategic, Political, Security and Economic Consultancy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Turak |first=Natasha |date=23 May 2022 |title=Conflict, politics and history: Why Turkey is standing in the way of both Sweden and Finland's NATO bids |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/23/why-turkey-doesnt-want-sweden-finland-to-join-nato.html |access-date=26 May 2022 |website=[[CNBC]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bayer |first=Lili |date=20 May 2022 |title=Sweden blasts Turkish 'disinformation' as Erdoğan delays NATO accession |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-turkey-nato-erdogan-disinformation/ |access-date=26 May 2022 |website=[[Politico]] |language=en-US}}</ref> due to its association with the [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK),<ref name="DNI2018"></ref> which is listed as a terrorist organization. The flag of the YPG is also a banned symbol in [[Germany]] as per [[Strafgesetzbuch section 86a]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=German police raid leftist for posting Kurdish YPG flag {{!}} DW {{!}} 19 August 2017 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-police-raid-leftist-for-posting-kurdish-ypg-flag/a-40160377 |access-date=16 June 2022 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 November 2017 |title=German lawmaker sparks criticism after displaying banned YPG flag in parliament |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/europe/2017/11/21/german-lawmaker-sparks-criticism-after-displaying-banned-ypg-flag-in-parliament |access-date=16 June 2022 |website=[[Daily Sabah]] |language=en-US}}</ref> although the organization itself is not recognised as terrorist.<ref>{{cite news |last=Yücel |first=Deniz |author-link=Deniz Yücel |date=24 February 2016 |title=Gute Kurden, böse Kurden. Wer ist Terrorist? |language=de |trans-title=Good Kurds, bad Kurds. Who is terrorist? |work=[[Die Welt]] |location=Berlin |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article152602725/Gute-Kurden-boese-Kurden-Wer-ist-Terrorist.html |access-date=4 February 2018}}</ref> Finland and Sweden's alleged support for the YPG is one of the points which caused [[Turkey in NATO|Turkey]] to oppose Finland and Sweden's [[Enlargement of NATO|NATO accession bid]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kerem |first=Schamberger |date=24 May 2022 |title=Der türkische NATO-Krieg gegen Kurdistan |url=https://jacobin.de/artikel/der-turkische-nato-krieg-gegen-kurdistan-nordirak-erdogan/ |access-date=26 May 2022 |website=[[Jacobin]] |language=de}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Richard |first=Milne |date=20 May 2022 |title=Sweden's Nato ambitions run into Kurdish row |work=[[Financial Times]] |url=https://www.ft.com/content/7defc9ce-d6d6-4485-94df-ca79eb37fa13 |access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref>
In June 2022, then–Finnish President [[Sauli Niinistö]] announced in [[Madrid]], after the agreement with Turkey, that Finland does not see the YPG as a terrorist organization and that Finland will continue to support the YPG.<ref>{{cite web |date=30 June 2022 |title=Finlandiya: YPG'ye terör örgütü demedik, değişen bir şey yok |url=https://www.diken.com.tr/finlandiya-ypgye-teror-orgutu-demedik-degisen-bir-sey-yok/ |publisher=Diken |language=tr}}</ref> The Turkish terror classification is not shared by key international bodies in the fight against the Islamic State in which the YPG takes part.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Deewanee |first=Azad |date=March 2022 |title=The Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People's Protection Units (YPG) in Turkish Official Discourse |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00438200211063520 |journal=World Affairs |language=en |volume=185 |issue=1 |pages=59–90 |doi=10.1177/00438200211063520 |s2cid=244947795 |issn=0043-8200 |via=[[SAGE Publishing|SAGE]]}}</ref> Due to this Turkish view, [[United States Army Special Operations Command|US Army Special Operations Commander]] General [[Raymond A. Thomas|Raymond Thomas]] suggested the YPG to change their name, after which the name of the [[Syrian Democratic Forces]] (SDF) was found.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ali |first=Sangar |date=22 July 2017 |title=We told YPG to change brand name in 2015: US General |work=[[Kurdistan 24]] |url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/12098-We-told-YPG-to-change-brand-name-in-2015:-US-General}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=21 July 2017 |title=U.S. general told Syria's YPG: 'You have got to change your brand' |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa-ypg-idUSKBN1A62SS |access-date=9 January 2023}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Early origins ===
Kurdish activists attempted to unify themselves following the [[2004 Qamishli riots]]. The riots began as clashes between rivaling football fans before taking a political turn, with Arab fans raising pictures of [[Saddam Hussein]] while the Kurdish fans reportedly proclaimed "We will sacrifice our lives for Bush". This resulted in clashes between the two groups who attacked each other with sticks, stones and knives. Government security forces entered the city to quell the riot, firing at the crowds. The riots resulted in around 36 dead, most of them Kurds.

They did not, however, emerge as a significant force until the [[Syrian civil war]] erupted in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=UA 15/05 Torture and ill-treatment/ possible unfair trial |date=19 January 2005 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/88000/mde240032005en.pdf |publisher=Amnesty International}}</ref><ref name="Vice">{{cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/read/meet-the-ypg|title=Meet the YPG, the Kurdish militia that doesn't want help from anyone|last=Gold|first=Danny|date=31 October 2012|quote=A member of YPG's central command … said that the YPG formed in 2004 shortly after the Qamishlo riots, when a number of Kurdish youth realized that they needed to be able to defend themselves more efficiently. They did not officially declare themselves until the revolution started in 2011.|magazine=[[Vice (magazine)|VICE]]|access-date=9 October 2014}}</ref>

==== Establishment ====
The self-defence committees that were to become the YPG were formed in July and August 2011 as the Self Protection units (YXG).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ayboga, Flach and Knapp|first=Ercan, Anja and Michael|title=Revolution in Rojava; Democratic Autonomy and Women's liberation in Syrian Kurdistan|publisher=Pluto Press|year=2016|isbn=9780745336596|location=London, United Kingdom|pages=51|language=English}}</ref>

Existing underground [[Kurds|Kurdish]] political parties, the [[Democratic Union Party (Syria)|Democratic Union Party]] (PYD) and the [[Kurdish National Council]] (KNC), joined to form the [[Kurdish Supreme Committee]] (KSC) and established the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia to defend Kurdish-inhabited areas in northern Syria, i.e. [[Syrian Kurdistan]] and the Kurdish enclave of [[Sheikh Maqsood]] in [[Aleppo]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=YPG |title=About Us |url=https://www.ypgrojava.org/About-Us |website=ypgrojava.org |access-date=26 May 2019}}</ref><ref name=casualties>{{cite news|title=Armed Kurds Surround Syrian Security Forces in Qamishli |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/news/syria/4984.html |access-date=27 July 2012 |publisher=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> Originally a wholly Kurdish force, the YPG began to recruit [[Arabs]] from at least 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://merip.org/2020/07/arabs-across-syria-join-the-kurdish-led-syrian-democratic-forces/|title=Arabs Across Syria Join the Kurdish-Led Syrian Democratic Forces|date=28 July 2020|publisher=MERIP}}</ref>

=== Control of Kurdish areas ===
In July 2012, the YPG had a standoff with Syrian government forces in the Kurdish city of [[Kobanî]] and the surrounding areas. After negotiations, government forces withdrew and the YPG took control of [[Kobanî]], [[Amuda]], and [[Afrin, Syria|Afrin]].<ref name=casualties /><ref>{{cite news|title=Kurds Give Ultimatum to Syrian Security Forces|url=http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/7/syriakurd541.htm |access-date=9 October 2014|publisher=Rudaw|date=21 July 2012}}</ref>

By December 2012, it had expanded to eight [[Brigade (military)|brigades]], which were formed in [[Qamishlo]], Kobanî, and [[Ras al-Ayn]] (Serê Kaniyê), and in the districts of [[Afrin District|Afrin]], [[Al-Malikiyah District|al-Malikiyah]], and [[Al-Bab District|al-Bab]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://scientiahumana.org/2012/12/04/the-kurdish-protection-units-have-formed-a-new-brigade-in-the-al-bab-region |title=The Kurdish Protection Units have formed a new brigade in the Al–Bab region |work=Scientia Humana |date=4 December 2012 |access-date=18 December 2013 |quote=Kurdish Information Center |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130108025429/http://scientiahumana.org/2012/12/04/the-kurdish-protection-units-have-formed-a-new-brigade-in-the-al-bab-region |archive-date=8 January 2013 }}</ref>

==== Late 2012: Islamist attacks make YPG dominant ====
The YPG did not initially take an offensive posture in the Syrian Civil War. Aiming mostly to defend Kurdish-majority areas, it avoided engaging Syrian government forces, which still controlled several enclaves in Kurdish territory. The YPG changed this policy when Ras al-Ayn was taken by the [[al-Qaeda]]-affiliated [[al-Nusra Front]]. At first the YPG conquered the surrounding government-controlled areas: [[al-Darbasiyah]] (Kurdish: Dirbêsî), [[Tel Tamer]] and [[al-Malikiyah]] (Kurdish: Dêrika Hemko). The subsequent [[Battle of Ras al-Ayn]] started in earnest when on 19 November 2012, the al-Nusra Front and a second al-Qaeda affiliate, [[Ghuraba al-Sham]], attacked Kurdish positions in the town. The battle ended with a YPG victory in July 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/76750/World/Region/Kurds-expel-jihadists-from-flashpoint-Syrian-town-.aspx |title=Kurds expel jihadists from flashpoint Syrian town: NGO|agency=AFP|work=Al-Ahram Weekly|date=17 July 2013|access-date=13 February 2015}}</ref>

While many rebel groups clashed with the YPG, [[jihadist]] and [[Salafist]] groups did so the most often.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf |author=International Crisis Group |title=Flight of Icarus? The PYD's Precarious Rise in Syria |date=8 May 2014 |quote=While rebel groups from across the ideological spectrum have clashed with the PYD, jihadi and Salafi groups have done so most aggressively and consistently |access-date=20 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220181554/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf |archive-date=20 February 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The YPG proved to be the only Kurdish militia able to effectively resist the fundamentalists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/interview/22072013 |title=YPG Commander: Kurds Are Bulwark Against Islamic Extremism in Syria|publisher=Rudaw|access-date=9 October 2014|date=22 July 2013}}</ref> While the YPG protected the Kurdish communities it was able to extract a price: it prevented the emergence of new, rival militias and forced existing ones to cooperate with or join the YPG forces on its terms.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf |author=International Crisis Group |title=Flight of Icarus? The PYD's Precarious Rise in Syria |date=8 May 2014 |quote=The PYD's growing influence largely has come at the expense of other Kurdishgroups. In particular, it has prevented emergence of new, rival militias while forcing existing ones to cooperate with or join PYD forces on their terms |access-date=20 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220181554/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf |archive-date=20 February 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> This was how the Islamist attacks enabled the YPG to unite the Syrian Kurds under its banner<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf|author=International Crisis Group|title=Flight of Icarus? The PYD's Precarious Rise in Syria|date=8 May 2014|quote=Crisis Group interview, Erbil, 4 July 2013: Intensified Islamist attacks in Kurdish areas shifted Kurdish public opinion toward the PYD. A resident of Tell Tamr, a partly Kurdish town targeted by armed Islamist groups, said, "in the aftermath of the battle of Ras al-Ayn, Islamists entered Tell Tamr. They began kidnapping and killing Kurds. I am not a YPG supporter, and I will never be. But if it weren't for the YPG, not a single Kurd would be left in the [al-] Jazeera region". Crisis Group interview, Erbil, July 2013. A journalist working for a pro-KDP channel commented: "I was the most critical person against the PYD. But at the moment, I have to admit that they are saving the people from the worst".|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220181554/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf|archive-date=20 February 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> and caused<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf |author=International Crisis Group |title=Flight of Icarus? The PYD's Precarious Rise in Syria |date=8 May 2014 |quote="At the same time, Ankara turned a blind eye to the Islamist fighters crossing from Turkey into Syria, viewing them – in addition to helping bring down the Assad regime – as potential counterweights to the PYD. The strategy backfired; the PYD not only gained territory, but also bolstered its appeal among Kurds as their only protector from jihadis. In September 2013, a Turkish official acknowledged: 'We made the PYD stronger by trying to undermine it'" |access-date=20 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220181554/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf |archive-date=20 February 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> it to become the de facto army of the Syrian Kurds.<ref name="bb">{{cite book|last1=N. Abboud|first1=Samer|title=Syria|date=2015|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-7456-9801-4|page=116|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPbrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT116}}</ref><ref name="nn">{{cite news|date=2014|title=Kurdish Woman Leading Battle Against Islamic State in Kobane: Activists|work=[[NDTV]]|url=http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/kurdish-woman-leading-battle-against-islamic-state-in-kobane-activists-678354|access-date=23 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="aus">{{cite news|title=Woman leads Kurds in battle against Islamic State in Kobane: activists|work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]|url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/woman-leads-kurds-in-battle-against-islamic-state-in-kobane-activists-20141013-1158kr.html|access-date=23 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="enalb">{{cite news|title=Kurdish woman leads fight against ISIS in Kobane|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/2014/10/14/Kurdish-woman-leads-fight-against-ISIS-in-Kobane-.html|access-date=23 March 2016}}</ref>

==== 2013: Kurdish control of al-Yaarubiyah/Til Koçer ====
{{Main|Battle of al-Yaarubiyah}}
In October 2013, YPG fighters took control of [[al-Yaarubiyah]] (Til Koçer) following intense clashes with IS. The clashes lasted about three days, with the Til Koçer border gate to Iraq being taken in a major offensive launched on the night of 24 October.<ref name="til" /> PYD leader [[Salih Muslim]] told Stêrk TV that this success created an alternative against efforts to hold the territory under embargo,<ref name="til">{{cite news|url=http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/ypg-takes-control-of-til-kocer.htm |title=YPG takes control of Til Koçer |date=27 October 2013 |agency=[[Firat News Agency]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209152741/http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/ypg-takes-control-of-til-kocer.htm |archive-date=9 December 2013}}</ref> referring to the fact that the other border crossings with Iraq led to areas controlled by the [[Kurdistan Regional Government]], while al-Yaarubiyah led to areas controlled by the Iraqi central government.

==== 2014: Fight against the Islamic State ====
[[File:Rojava february 2014.png|250px|thumb|YPG-controlled territory, February 2014]]
In 2014, the [[Syriac Military Council]], a group of [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] units, was formally integrated into the YPG's command structure. The [[inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War]] led to open war between the [[Free Syrian Army]] and IS in January 2014. The YPG collaborated with FSA groups to fight IS in [[Raqqa Governorate|Raqqa]] province;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2014/05/fsa-and-ypg-cooperate-against-isil-militants-in-syrias-tel-abyad/|title=FSA and YPG cooperate against ISIL militants in Syria's Tel Abyad|date=12 May 2014|publisher=ARA News|access-date=9 October 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008154840/http://aranews.net/2014/05/fsa-and-ypg-cooperate-against-isil-militants-in-syrias-tel-abyad/|archive-date=8 October 2014}}</ref> the group also formed an operations room with multiple FSA factions, called [[Euphrates Volcano]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2014/09/ypg-fsa-form-joint-military-chamber-combat-isis-syria/|title=YPG and FSA form a joint military chamber to combat ISIS in Syria|publisher=ARA News|date=12 September 2014|access-date=9 October 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014063318/http://aranews.net/2014/09/ypg-fsa-form-joint-military-chamber-combat-isis-syria/|archive-date=14 October 2014}}</ref> However, the general outcome of this campaign was a massive advance by IS, which effectively separated the eastern part of Rojava from the main force of FSA rebels. IS followed up on its success by attacking the YPG and the FSA in Kobanî Canton in March and fighting its way to the gates of the city of Kobanî in September. The actual [[siege of Kobanî]] approximately coincided with an escalation in the [[American-led intervention in Syria]]. This intervention had started with aiding the FSA against the government, but when the FSA was getting defeated by IS in eastern Syria, it escalated to bombing IS on Syrian territory.

With the world fearing another massacre in Kobanî, American support increased substantially. The US gave intense [[close air support]] to the YPG, and in doing so, started military cooperation with one of the factions. While it expected that IS would quickly crush the YPG and the FSA, this alliance was not considered a problem for the US.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/08/world/meast/isis-threat/index.html |title=U.S. military: Airstrikes against ISIS won't save key city of Kobani|date=9 October 2014|publisher=CNN |access-date=5 November 2016}}</ref> The YPG won the battle in early 2015.

Meanwhile, the situation had been stable in Afrin and Aleppo. The fight between the FSA and IS had led to a normalization in the relations between FSA and YPG since the end of 2013. In February 2015, the YPG signed a judicial agreement with the [[Levant Front]] in [[Aleppo Governorate|Aleppo]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Kurdish YPG and Jabhat al-Shamiya Agreement on Judiciary Cooperation in Aleppo  |url=https://www.facebook.com/SyrianRebellionObservatory/photos/a.1648239072069399.1073741828.1648217982071508/1699722200254419/?type=1 |date=5 February 2015|publisher=Syrian Rebellion Observatory}}</ref><!--allys-->

==== Spring 2015: Offensive operations with coalition support ====
[[File:Syrian civil war 01 11 2015.png|thumb|Military situation in the Syrian Civil War in November 2015]]
[[File:Rojava june 2015.png|250px|thumb|YPG-controlled territory, June 2015]]
The YPG was able and willing to offensively engage and put pressure on IS and had built up a track record as a reliable military partner of the US. In 2015, the YPG began its advance on [[Tell Abyad|Tel Abyad]], a move they have planned for since November 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|last=van Wilgenburg|first=Wladimir|title= Kurdish Strategy Towards Ethnically-Mixed Areas in the Syrian Conflict|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/52aef0e34.html|access-date=19 September 2020|website=Refworld|publisher=Jamestown Foundation|language=en}}</ref> With American close air support, offensives near [[Eastern al-Hasakah offensive|Hasakah]] and from Hasakah [[Western al-Hasakah offensive|westward]] culminated in the [[Tell Abyad offensive|conquest of Tell Abyad]], linking up Kobanî with Hasakah in July 2015. With the capture of Tell Abyad, the YPG has also broken a major supply route of fighters and goods for the Islamic State.<ref>{{Cite news|date=16 June 2015|title=Is Tal Abyad a turning point for Syria's Kurds?|language=en-GB|agency=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33146515|access-date=19 September 2020}}</ref>

With these offensives, the YPG had begun to make advances into areas that did not always have a Kurdish majority. When the YPG and the FSA entered the border town of [[Tell Abyad]] in June 2015, parts of the population fled the intense fighting and the airstrikes.<ref name="pitarakis">{{cite news|last1=Pitarakis|first1=Lefteris|last2=Mroue|first2=Bassem|date=14 June 2015|title=Thousands of Syrians flee into Turkey amid intense fighting|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7f62663318e94589bf6097825914a088/kurds-nearing-key-islamic-state-held-syrian-border-town|agency=AP|quote=Thousands of Syrians cut through a border fence and crossed over into Turkey … fleeing intense fighting … between Kurdish fighters and jihadis.|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=17 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617004746/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7f62663318e94589bf6097825914a088/kurds-nearing-key-islamic-state-held-syrian-border-town|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Autumn 2015: foundation of the SDF ====
The [[Syrian Democratic Forces]] was established in Hasakah on 11 October 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Abadi|first=Cameron|title=Why Is Turkey Fighting Syria's Kurds?|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/17/turkey-claim-syrian-kurds-terrorists-not-isis-ypg-pkk-sdf/|access-date=4 March 2020|website=[[Foreign Policy]]|date=17 October 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="KQ1015">{{cite web|url=http://kurdishquestion.com/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/declaration-of-establishment-by-democratic-syria-forces/1179-declaration-of-establishment-by-democratic-syria-forces.html|title=Declaration of establishment by Syrian Democratic Forces|date=15 October 2015|publisher=Kurdish Question|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224085811/http://kurdishquestion.com/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/declaration-of-establishment-by-democratic-syria-forces/1179-declaration-of-establishment-by-democratic-syria-forces.html|archive-date=24 February 2016|access-date=15 October 2015}}</ref> It has its origins in the YPG-FSA collaboration against IS, which had previously led to the establishment of the [[Euphrates Volcano]] joint operations room in 2014. Many of the partners are the same, and even the logo / flag with the Blue Euphrates symbol has common traits with that of Euphrates Volcano. The primary difference is that Euphrates Volcano was limited to coordinating the activities of independent Kurdish and Arab groups, while the SDF is a single organisation made up of Kurds, Arabs, and [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]].

The first success of the SDF was the capture of the strategic ethnically Arab town of al-Hawl from IS during the [[2015 Al-Hawl offensive|al-Hawl offensive]] in November 2015. This was followed in December by the [[Tishrin Dam offensive]]. The dam was captured on 26 December. Participating forces included the YPG, the FSA group [[Army of Revolutionaries]], the tribal group [[al-Sanadid Forces]] and the Assyrian [[Syriac Military Council]]. The coalition had some heavy weapons and was supported by intense US led airstrikes.<ref name="reuters-alliance">{{cite news |date=28 December 2015 |title=U.S.-backed alliance captures key dam from Islamic State – alliance spokesman |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-alliance-idUKKBN0U90DC20151228 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228102328/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-alliance-idUKKBN0U90DC20151228 |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 December 2015 |work=[[Reuters]] |quote=Colonel Talal Selo ... said the rapid advance overnight by thousands of troops from the Democratic Forces of Syria had brought the dam ... under their control on Saturday.... Selo said ... the latest round of fighting ... involved several thousand fighters from the Democratic Forces of Syria with heavy armour. }}</ref> The capture of the hydroelectric dam also had positive effects on the [[economy of Rojava]].<ref name="Themedialine">{{cite news |date=1 February 2016 |title= Photos of Tishrin Dam, Liberated from ISIS |url=http://www.themedialine.org/views/blog/photos-of-tishrin-dam-liberated-from-isis/ |quote=Tishrin is an incredible dam, not least of all because it sits cradled in a beautiful lush valley, in an otherwise dry and arid land. But also because of what Tishrin implies for the people of Rojava who have survived for the past two years under incredible economic and political conditions, exacerbated significantly by lack of access to water and electricity which Tishrin provides.}}</ref>

==== 2016 ====
In February, the YPG-led SDF launched the [[Al-Shaddadi offensive (2016)|al-Shaddadi offensive]], followed by the [[Manbij offensive]] in May, and [[Raqqa offensive (2016–present)|the Raqqa]] and [[Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)|Aleppo offensives]] in November. These operations extended SDF-controlled territory, usually at IS's expense.

On 7 April 2016, the Kurdish neighborhood of [[Sheikh Maqsood]] in Aleppo was shelled with [[Mortar (weapon)|mortars]] that may have contained [[List of chemical warfare agents|chemical agents]] (160 killed or wounded).<ref>{{cite web|title=Mapping Militant Organizations: Jaish al-Islam|url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/533|website=Stanford University|date=31 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dw.com/en/concerns-grow-about-abuses-war-crimes-in-syria/a-19277777 |title= Middle East Concerns grow about abuses, war crimes in Syria |work=Deutsche Welle|date=25 May 2016}}</ref> Spokesperson for the YPG said that [[Saudi Arabia]]-backed [[Jaysh al-Islam]] (Army of Islam) rebel group has attacked the Kurdish neighborhood of Aleppo with "forbidden weapons" many times since the war's start.<ref>"[http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/7a0f6294-ab7f-4d15-b5af-3ff4b444ab3f/Syrian-rebels-admit-chemical-use-against-Kurds Syrian rebels admit chemical use against Kurds]". [[Kurdistan 24]]. 9 April 2016.</ref>

==== 2018: Turkish military intervention ====
{{See also|Turkish military intervention in Syria (January 2018–present)}}
[[File:Syrian civil war 01 11 2018.png|thumb|Military situation in January 2019]]

== Women's Protection Units ==
{{Main|Women's Protection Units}}
[[File:YPJ fighters shake hands with one another.jpg|thumb|Women's Protection Units in November 2014]]
The [[Women's Protection Units]] (YPJ), also known as the Women's Defense Units, is the YPG's female brigade, which was set up in 2012. Kurdish media have said that YPJ troops became vital during the [[siege of Kobanî]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Trieb|first1=Erin|title=Meet the Kurdish Women Fighting ISIS in Syria|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/meet-kurdish-women-fighting-isis-syria-n199821|access-date=19 March 2016|agency=NBC News|date=August 2014}}</ref> Consisting of approximately 20,000 fighters, they make up around 40% of the YPG.<ref name="profil">{{cite web|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/profil-rojda-felat-1.3239571|title=Profil – Rojda Felat. Kommandeurin der Offensive gegen den IS in Raqqa und Bismarck-Fan. [Profile – Rojda Felat. Commander of the offensive against the IS in Raqqa and Bismarck-Fan]|publisher=[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]]|language=de|author=Moritz Baumstieger|date=9 November 2016|access-date=1 January 2017}}</ref>

== Organization ==

=== Flags ===
{{multiple image
 | align = center
 | total_width = 600
 | header = Flags of the People's Protection Units
 | image1 = People's Protection Units Flag (2011-2012, Vertical).svg
 | caption1 = Vertical red flag of the YPG, used since 2011 until early 2013
 | image2 = People's Protection Units Flag (2011-2012).svg
 | caption2 = Horizontal red flag of the YPG, used since 2011 until early 2013
 | image3 = People's Protection Units Flag (2011-2012) alternative.svg
 | caption3 = Variant of the horizontal red flag, also used until early 2013
 | image4 = People's Protection Units Flag.svg
 | caption4 = Yellow flag of the YPG, first used since late 2012, widely adopted in 2013 and since then the official flag of the militia
}}

=== Units ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2022}}
In 2017, the YPG began to form units called [[regiment]]s in translation, though they are smaller than comparable units in standard militaries:

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:80%;"
|-
! style="width:15%;"| Canton
! style="width:5%;"| Number
! style="width:40%;"| Name
! style="width:10%;"| Date Established
! style="width:10%;"| Strength
|-
| Afrin  || 1 || Martyr Xebat Dêrik  || 27 February 2017 || 236 in 4 battalions
|-
| Afrin  || 2 || Martyr Afrin  || 20 April 2017 || 235
|-
| Afrin  || 3 || Martyr Rojhilet  || Early June? 2017 || 236
|-
| Afrin  || 4 || Martyr Mazloum  || 2 July 2017 || 234
|-
| Afrin  || 5 || Martyr Alişêr  || 27 August 2017 || 303
|-
| Afrin  || 7 || Martyr Jayan  || 23 October 2017 || 250
|-
| Afrin  || 8 || Martyr Bahoz Afrin  || 18 November 2017 || 234
|}

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:80%;"
|-
! style="width:15%;"| Canton
! style="width:5%;"| Number
! style="width:40%;"| Name
! style="width:10%;"| Date Established
! style="width:10%;"| Strength
|-
| Kobane || 1 || ?  || 13 February 2017 || 80
|-
| Kobane  || 2 || Martyr Şevger Kobanî Regiment || 18 February 2017 || 90
|-
| Jazira – al-Hasakah || 1 || Jian Judy and Dogan Fadel  || 20 July 2017 || 500
|-
| Jazira – Girkê Legê || 3 || Qereçox Martyrs  || 12 July 2017 || 200
|-
| Aleppo || 1 || Martyr Shahid Baqour || 30 September 2017 || 55 (Martyr Abu Shayar battalion)
|-
| Tabqa (SDF) || 1 || Martyr Haboun Arab || 14 November 2017 || 250
|}

=== Tactics ===
According to a report in [[IHS Jane's]] regarding the YPG,

{{blockquote|Relying on speed, stealth, and surprise, it is the archetypal guerrilla army, able to deploy quickly to front lines and concentrate its forces before quickly redirecting the axis of its attack to outflank and ambush its enemy. The key to its success is autonomy. Although operating under an overarching tactical rubric, YPG brigades are inculcated with a high degree of freedom and can adapt to the changing battlefield.<ref name="YPG strategy">{{Cite web|url=https://janescom.sitefinity.cloud/error/404|title=404 error – This is not the page you requested|website=Janes.com}}</ref>}}

The YPG relies heavily on [[sniper]]s and backs them by suppressing enemy fire using mobile heavy machine guns. It also uses roadside bombs to prevent outflanking maneuvers, particularly at night. Its lines have generally held when attacked by [[Islamic State]] (IS) forces who have better equipment, including helmets and body armor.<ref name="stephens">{{cite news|last=Stephens|first=Michael|date=11 September 2014|title=Analysis: YPG – The Islamic State's worst enemy|newspaper=[[IHS Jane's 360]]|url=http://www.janes.com/article/43030/analysis-ypg-the-islamic-state-s-worst-enemy|access-date=13 March 2016}}</ref>

The YPG and [[People's Defence Forces|People's Defense Forces]] (HPG) have also trained and equipped more than 1,000 [[Yazidis]], who operate in the [[Sinjar Mountains|Mount Sinjar area]] as local defense units under their supervision.<ref name="stephens" />

The YPG calls itself a people's army, and therefore appoints officers by internal elections.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ahmad|first=Rozh|title=A rare glimpse into Kurdish armed forces in Syrian Kurdistan|work=[[Ekurd.net]]|location=Erbil, Iraq|date=6 August 2012|url=http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/8/syriakurd578.htm }}</ref>

A 20-year-old female YPJ fighter named Zlukh Hamo (Nom de guerre: Avesta Khabur) was reported to have carried out a [[suicide attack]] towards Turkish troops and a tank during the early phase of the [[Turkish military operation in Afrin|Afrin Offensive]], killing herself and several soldiers in the process.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nordland |first=Rod |date=28 January 2018 |title=Female Kurdish Fighter Kills Turkish Troops in Likely Suicide Bombing in Syria |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/28/world/middleeast/kurds-female-suicide-bomber-syria.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=30 January 2018|title=Turkish troops targeted in Afrin suicide attack|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1235721/middle-east|access-date=18 June 2021|website=[[Arab News]]}}</ref> The attack was commended by pro-SDF sources as a courageous attack against a tank using explosives, which killed her in the process.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kurdish female fighter detonates herself to destroy a Turkish tank in Afrin, statement|url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/280120182|access-date=18 June 2021|website=[[Rudaw]]}}</ref>

=== Equipment ===
{{See also|List of military equipment used by Syrian Democratic Forces}}
[[File:YPG Tall Tamer 14 mai 2015.PNG|thumb|YPG [[Technical (vehicle)|technical]] near [[Tell Tamer]], 2015]]
In comparison to the other major factions involved in the Syrian Civil War, the YPG has the least armor.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Turkey's high stakes in post-ISIL Syria |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9hao6jQpTs |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=Hürriyet Daily News |date=5 July 2017 |language=en}}</ref> To compensate for the resulting capability gap, the YPG became heavily involved in the production of DIY armoured vehicles, typically based on bulldozers or large trucks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oryx |title=Monsters Of Desperation: The YPG's Sturmpanzers |url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2020/08/belly-of-beast-ypg-monsters.html |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=Oryx}}</ref> The YPG has traditionally relied on vehicles captured from the Islamic State, AFVs left behind by the Syrian Arab Army (SyAA), equipment turned over by the SyAA in exchange for a safe passage (for example, after retreating from Mennagh airbase in 2014), and armoured vehicles donated by the US for light armoured vehicles and true armour.<ref name=":3" />

While other Syrian Civil War factions, such as the [[Islamic State]], amassed an arsenal of hundreds of tanks and other armored fighting vehicles captured from the Syrian Arab Army, the YPG, which frequently avoided combat with government forces, had to make do with scraps.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Oryx |title=Kurdish Armour: Inventorising YPG Equipment In Northern Syria |url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2021/10/kurdish-armour-inventorising-ypg.html |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=Oryx}}</ref> The YPG was able to acquire several vehicle types, including the [[BTR-60]] and [[BRDM-2]], that had been abandoned in government bases by their previous owners.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |date=22 November 2022 |title=All About the YPG, the Syrian Kurds Dividing Turkey and the US |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-22/all-about-the-ypg-the-syrian-kurds-vexing-turkey-quicktake |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref> With no other option, even these abandoned vehicles would be repaired and repurposed by the YPG.<ref name=":4" /> Even when the engine couldn't be repaired, the hulls of BTR-60s were strapped to the backs of trucks and used as improvised AFVs.<ref name=":5" />

With little armor and other heavy weaponry, the YPG relied almost entirely on Coalition airpower to destroy Islamic State vehicles and fighting positions.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=The Tweet of Damocles |url=http://newamerica.org/international-security/reports/tweet-damocles/ |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=New America |language=en}}</ref> While this meant that Islamic State-operated AFVs were frequently destroyed before they could inflict serious damage on YPG forces, it also meant that most AFVs were completely obliterated by Coalition aircraft, preventing their capture and further use with the YPG.<ref name=":6" />

In order to assist the [[SDF insurgency in Northern Aleppo|SDF]] in its fight against Islamic State forces in northern Syria, the YPG received a large number of infantry mobility vehicles ([[Infantry mobility vehicle|IMVs]]) and mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles ([[MRAP]]s) from the US, which appear to have replaced some of the YPG's more bizarre homemade armour designs.<ref name=":4" /> Surprisingly, the YPG was permitted to keep these vehicles even after IS was defeated as a conventional military force.<ref name=":4" /> Even so, there was little doubt that their most likely future application would be against a [[NATO]] member ([[Turkey]]).<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 November 2022 |title=Factbox: What is the Syrian Kurdish YPG? |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/what-is-syrian-kurdish-ypg-2022-11-14/ |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref> Aside from a large fleet of [[Humvee]]s, [[IAG Guardian]]s, and [[International MaxxPro|M1224 Maxxpros]], the US has reportedly transferred a number of [[M2 Bradley]] infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to the YPG.<ref name=":7">{{Cite tweet |url-access=limited |title=Register |user=worldonalert |number=1183399659085144072 |url=https://twitter.com/worldonalert/status/1183399659085144072}}</ref> These reports appear to be based on the sighting of M2s with SDF flags and a video of YPG members training alongside M2s, and there is currently no evidence that such a transfer has occurred.<ref name=":7" />

The YPG's arsenal of ATGMs is without a doubt the most dangerous threat to the Turkish military.<ref name=":4" /> Despite capturing only a small number of these missiles from the Syrian Arab Army, the YPG has managed to secure a steady supply of ATGMs obtained on the Syrian black market.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=AA |first=Daily Sabah with |date=4 December 2022 |title='Border Eagles' protect Türkiye-Syria boundary with domestic equipment |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/border-eagles-protect-turkiye-syria-boundary-with-domestic-equipment |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=Daily Sabah |language=en-US}}</ref> These have included models like the [[9M113 Konkurs]] and [[9K115 Metis|9M115 Metis-M]], as well as more advanced models like the [[9M133 Kornet]] and even the US [[BGM-71 TOW|TOW]] ATGM.<ref name=":8" /> Despite frequently employing them against the [[Free Syrian Army]] and Turkish military, the YPG is likely to keep a significant stock of missiles on hand for future use against Turkish armour and troop concentrations.<ref name=":8" />

== International outreach ==

=== Foreign volunteers ===
{{Further|YPG International|International Freedom Battalion}}
[[File:German, French, and Spanish YPG fighters.png|250px|left|thumb|[[Germans|German]], [[French people|French]], and [[Spanish people|Spanish]] fighters of the YPG in northern Syria.]]
Ex–[[U.S. Army]] soldier [[Jordan Matson]] was among the first foreign volunteers of the YPG. Injured by an IS suicide bomb, he developed the "Lions of Rojava" recruitment campaign for foreign volunteers,<ref>{{cite web |author=Jennifer Percy |title=Meet the American Vigilantes Who Are Fighting ISIS |website=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/magazine/meet-the-american-vigilantes-who-are-fighting-isis.html |date=30 September 2015 |access-date=15 December 2015}}</ref> launched on 21 October 2014 on Facebook.<ref>{{cite web |date=13 November 2014 |title=Kobani Kurds Use Facebook To Recruit Foreign Fighters in Struggle Against IS |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/islamic-state-ypg-foreign-fighters/26690432.html |access-date=15 November 2014 |publisher=[[Radio Free Europe]] Radio Liberty}}</ref> More than 400 volunteers from Europe, the Americas and Australia have joined the YPG {{As of|2015|6|11|lc=y}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.syriahr.com/en/2015/06/more-than-400-fighters-from-australia-america-and-europe-join-ypg|title=SOHR|date=11 June 2015|access-date=15 November 2015|publisher=Syriahr.com}}</ref> including at least ten U.S. volunteers, three of which were U.S. Army veterans.<ref name=Shah>{{cite web|url=http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/culture/western-comrades-join-kurds-arabs-secularists-yezidis-and-syriac-christians-against-islamic-state_27563|title=Western "comrades" join Kurds, Arabs, secularists, Yezidis, and Syriac Christians against Islamic State|date=29 October 2014|access-date=13 February 2015|publisher=Your Middle East}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/10/06/jordan-matson-joins-kurds-against-islamic-state/16796487/|title=Exclusive: American explains why he's fighting ISIL|date=7 October 2014|access-date=23 October 2014|publisher=USA Today}}</ref><ref name="bbc23oct">{{cite web |last=Muir |first=Jim |date=23 October 2014 |title=The US volunteers who fight with Syria's Kurds |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29705167 |access-date=23 October 2014 |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Zurutuza |first=Karlos |date=23 October 2014 |title=A Divorced Father-of-Two from Ohio Is Fighting the Islamic State in Syria |url=https://news.vice.com/article/a-divorced-father-of-two-from-ohio-is-fighting-the-islamic-state-in-syria |access-date=13 February 2015 |publisher=[[Vice News]]}}</ref> People from both China and the Chinese diaspora have also joined.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35036879|title=The Chinese man fighting Islamic State with the YPG|work=BBC News|date=8 December 2015}}</ref>

Other prominent foreign volunteers have included [[Brace Belden]], [[Macer Gifford]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11668576/British-ex-trader-who-fought-Isil-describes-escape-from-Syria.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11668576/British-ex-trader-who-fought-Isil-describes-escape-from-Syria.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=British ex-trader who fought Isil describes escape from Syria|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=24 March 2017|language=en}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Ryan Lock,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/02/briton-ryan-lock-killed-while-fighting-against-isis-in-syria|title=Briton killed while fighting against Isis in Syria|last=Blake|first=Matt|date=2 January 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=24 March 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Michael Israel,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/12/3/foreign-volunteers-fighting-with-syrian-kurdish-forces-killed-by-turkey|title=Foreign volunteers fighting with Syrian-Kurdish forces killed 'by Turkey'|last=Arab|first=The New|work=alaraby|access-date=24 March 2017|language=en}}</ref> Nazzarno Tassone,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3159893/canadian-man-killed-while-fighting-isis-in-syria/|title=Canadian man killed while fighting ISIS in Syria &#124; Globalnews.ca|website=Global News}}</ref>  Dean Evans,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/29/isis-wasnt-about-killing-people-what-drove-british-farmer-syrian-frontline|title='It wasn't about killing people': what drove a British farmer to the Syrian frontline?|last=Blake|first=Matt|date=29 October 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=24 March 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> [[Jac Holmes]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/240420166|title=Three foreign YPG volunteers released from jail, going home |website=rudaw|access-date=24 March 2017}}</ref> [[Konstandinos Erik Scurfield]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Kurds pay tribute to 'hero' Erik Scurfield on anniversary of death |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-39172425 |access-date=17 April 2022 |work=BBC News |date=5 March 2017}}</ref> [[Anna Campbell]], [[Lorenzo Orsetti]] and [[Haukur Hilmarsson]].

Dozens of non-Kurdish Turks (from both Turkey and the European diaspora) have also joined.<ref name=Shah /> The Turkish [[Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (Turkey)|Marxist-Leninist Communist Party]] (MLKP) has been sending volunteers to fight in the YPG since 2012. At least four have been killed in battle as of February 2015—one during the Battle of Ras al-Ayn and three during the siege of Kobanî. The party released a video in late January 2015 showing several Spanish- and German-speaking volunteers from Europe among its ranks in [[Jazira Canton]]; they were reorganised into the [[International Freedom Battalion]] on 10 June 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.etha.com.tr/Haber/2015/01/28/guncel/enternasyonal-devrimciler-her-dilden-devrimi-savun/|title=Enternasyonal devrimciler: Her dilden devrimi savunuyoruz|date=28 January 2015|publisher=Etkin Haber Ajansı|language=tr|access-date=11 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302131855/http://www.etha.com.tr/Haber/2015/01/28/guncel/enternasyonal-devrimciler-her-dilden-devrimi-savun/|archive-date=2 March 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Deaths ====
{{Further|International Freedom Battalion#International Freedom Battalion fatalities}}
During the fight against IS and the defense of [[Afrin, Syria|Afrin]] against the Turkish state, several of the international volunteers were wounded and killed. The [[Icelanders|Icelandic]] [[Haukur Hilmarsson]], aged 31, was killed on 24 February 2018 in an [[artillery]] attack by the [[Turkish army]] in the village of [[Maabatli|Mabeta]], Afrin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://anfenglish.com/news/internationalists-martyred-in-rojava-remembered-in-greece-33183|title=Internationalists martyred in Rojava remembered in Greece|website=ANF News}}</ref> As a [[YPJ]] fighter, the British woman [[Anna Campbell]], 26, from [[Lewes]] in [[East Sussex]], was killed in a Turkish airstrike in [[Afrin, Syria|Afrin]] on 15 March 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/19/briton-kurds-anna-campbell-dies-fighting-turkey-syria-afrin|title=British woman killed fighting Turkish forces in Afrin|first=Matt|last=Blake|newspaper=The Guardian |date=19 March 2018|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref> In the battle of [[Al-Baghuz Fawqani]], an Italian man fighting for the YPG, [[Lorenzo Orsetti]], was killed on Sunday, 17 March 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47628209|title=Syrian fighters 'overrun IS encampment'|date=19 March 2019|agency=BBC News|access-date=9 March 2020|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==== Politics ====
While most countries do not object in principle to their citizens joining the ranks of the YPG, Turkey has been vocal against YPG's foreign recruits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/en/originals/2017/06/turkey-syria-kurds-ypg-foreign-militants.html|title=Turkey increasingly vocal against YPG's foreign recruits|publisher=Al-Monitor|author=Metin Gurcan|date=28 June 2017|access-date=28 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929000711/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/en/originals/2017/06/turkey-syria-kurds-ypg-foreign-militants.html|archive-date=29 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Several Australians, including former [[Australian labour movement|trade unionist]] and politician [[Matthew Gardiner (trade unionist)|Matthew Gardiner]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/matthew-gardiner-confirmed-to-be-fighting-islamic-state-with-kurds/story-fnk0b1zt-1227203073161|title=Matthew Gardiner confirmed to be fighting Islamic State with Kurds|publisher=NTNews|access-date=9 July 2015|archive-date=1 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801084223/http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/matthew-gardiner-confirmed-to-be-fighting-islamic-state-with-kurds/story-fnk0b1zt-1227203073161|url-status=dead}}</ref> have been involved with the YPG despite threats by Australia to prosecute any citizens involved in the Syrian Civil War.<ref name="xinhua">{{cite news |date=11 June 2015 |title=Australian man defends his actions fighting against Islamic State |url=http://english.sina.com/2015/0610/818826.html |agency=[[Xinhua News Agency|Xinhua (Beijing)]] |quote=Former international junior bench press champion Ashley Dyball … wrote on Facebook, 'The s--- you see here is nothing like you see on the bias news reports, the Islamic state must be stopped and if it means I can't come home f--- it.' … Dyball faces prosecution if he returns.}}</ref> Under Australian law it is a criminal offence to fight with any side in a foreign conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2015/03/25/Awkward-contradictions-in-Australian-foreign-fighter-laws.aspx|title=Awkward contradictions in Australian foreign-fighter laws|author=Lauren Williams|work=lowyinterpreter.org|access-date=29 November 2015}}</ref>

In 2017, Turkish court sentenced two Czech nationals to more than six years in prison for their reported ties to the YPG.<ref>{{cite news |title=Turkish Supreme Court upholds six-year verdict imposed on two Czechs |url=https://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/turkish-supreme-court-upholds-six-year-verdict-imposed-on-two-czechs |agency=Radio Praha |date=24 July 2018}}</ref> In Germany, the YPG leads to controversies as it is up to the police to begin a prosecution for showing a YPG flag.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Peter|first=Erik|url=https://taz.de/!5629632/|title=Kurdische Symbole in Deutschland: Rechtslage? Mal so, mal so|date=16 October 2019|work=Die Tageszeitung: taz|access-date=1 March 2020|language=de|issn=0931-9085}}</ref> In the state of Bavaria, fines for showing a YPG flag were issued, while the federal government declares that the YPG is not forbidden.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://anfdeutsch.com/aktuelles/ist-das-zeigen-einer-ypg-fahne-strafbar-7797|title=Ist das Zeigen einer YPG-Fahne strafbar?|website=ANF News|language=de|access-date=1 March 2020}}</ref>

=== Foreign government support ===
{{See also|Syrian Democratic Forces}}

Because the YPG operates in a landlocked territory, rival opposition groups as well as the Turkish and Syrian government were able to physically prevent foreign aid from reaching it. The YPG's seizure of Til Koçer in October 2013 (cf. above) created an overland connection to more or less friendly groups in Iraq, but could not change the even more fundamental problem, that the YPG had no allies willing to provide equipment.

==== United States ====
[[File:US and YPG officers in northeastern Hasaka.png|thumb|A [[Delta Force]] officer and YPG and YPJ commanders tour an area hit by [[April 2017 Turkish airstrikes in Syria and Iraq|Turkish airstrikes]] in April 2017]]
[[File:YPG and US army Hassaka 1-5-2017.jpg|thumb|U.S. Army [[M1126 infantry carrier vehicle|M1126 Stryker]] armored vehicle in [[Al-Hasakah]], May 2017]]

In August 2014 [[Mazlum Kobane|Mazlum Kobanî]] led negotiations with the US in [[Sulaymaniyah|Sulaymaniya]], which led to a military alliance against IS.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/how-trump-betrayed-the-general-who-defeated-isis|title=How Trump Betrayed the General Who Defeated ISIS|last=Wright|first=Robin|magazine=The New Yorker|date=4 April 2019|access-date=5 April 2019|language=en|issn=0028-792X}}</ref> The United States provided the YPG with air support during the [[siege of Kobanî]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29526783|title=Kobane: Air strikes help Syria town curb IS|work=BBC News|date=8 October 2014|access-date=14 December 2016|agency=BBC News}}</ref> and during later campaigns, helping the YPG defend territory against attacks by the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/dec/01/syria-airstrikes-everything-you-need-to-know|title=Syria airstrikes: everything you need to know|first1=Matthew|last1=Weaver|first2=Julian|last2=Borger|date=1 December 2015|access-date=14 December 2016|work=The Guardian}}</ref> Turkey has criticised US support.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-35541003|title=Turkey's Erdogan denounces US support for Syrian Kurds|work=BBC News|date=10 February 2016|access-date=14 December 2016|agency=BBC News}}</ref>

The YPG also received 27 bundles totalling 24 tons of small arms and ammunition and 10 tons of medical supplies from the United States and Iraqi Kurdistan during the siege of Kobanî.<ref name="pukmedia">{{cite web|url=http://pukmedia.com/KS_Direje.aspx?Jimare=69493|title=PUKmedia یەکێتیی نیشتمانیی کوردستان|work=pukmedia.com}}</ref>

On 11 October 2015, the US began an operation to airdrop 120 tons of military supplies to the YPG and its local Arab and Turkmen allies to fight IS north of [[Raqqa]]. The first airdrop consisted of 112 pallets of ammunition and "other items like hand grenades", totaling 50 tons.<ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. delivers 50 tons of ammunition to Syria rebel groups |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/12/politics/syria-rebel-groups-ammunition-50-tons/index.html|access-date=1 February 2016|date=12 October 2015}}</ref> However, statements from the US that the aid did not contain TOW's or anti-aircraft weapons made it clear that the U.S. continued to have serious regard for the interests of Turkey, which has warned against continued US support for the YPG. On the other hand, the US also supported Islamist rebel groups who fought the YPG. During the Battle of Aleppo, the US-backed [[Mountain Hawks Brigade]] battled the YPG and the [[Army of Revolutionaries]] for control of the village of [[Maryamin, Afrin|Maryamin]].<ref name=YPGallies>{{cite web |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ypg-and-allies-clashes-syrian-opposition-groups-aleppo-633986086|title=YPG, allies clash with Syrian opposition groups in Aleppo|date=29 November 2015|publisher=Middle East Eye}}</ref>

US aid to the YPG continued in late October with the deployment of up to 50 US special forces to assist the YPG, and an enhanced air campaign to support the YPG and local militia groups in their fight against IS.<ref name="steele">{{cite news |last=Steele |first=Jonathan |title=The Syrian Kurds are winning! |magazine=New York Review of Books |date=3 December 2015 |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2015/12/03/syrian-kurds-are-winning/ |quote=Turkey had told ... the US that YPG forces would not be permitted to proceed beyond the Euphrates. In an apparent rebuke ... Kerry [said]: "We're … enhancing our air campaign in order to help drive Da'esh, which once dominated the Syria–Turkey border, out of the last seventy-mile stretch...” }} Review of ''Out of Nowhere: The Kurds of Syria in Peace and War'', by Michael M. Gunter.</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Obama orders US special forces to 'assist' fight against Isis in Syria ' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/30/syria-us-deployment-troops-obama-special-operations|access-date=1 February 2016|date=30 October 2015}}</ref> Some of these special forces participated in the [[al-Shaddadi offensive (2016)]] and coordinated airstrikes against IS.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aftoBdrjm7Q|title=EXCLUSIVE: Interethnic coalition takes on the IS group in Syria|publisher=France 24 |via=YouTube|date=22 April 2016}}</ref>

During the [[Battle of Tabqa (2017)]], [[Anti-Terror Units|YPG special forces]] were equipped with US-supplied [[combat helmet]]s, [[AN/PVS-7]] [[night vision device]]s, [[flashlight]]s, and were armed with [[M4 carbine]]s equipped with [[AN/PEQ-2]] [[laser sight]]s, [[holographic weapon sight]]s, and [[STANAG magazine]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/syrian-kurds-ypg-us-military-weapons|title=Syrian Kurds are now armed with sensitive US weaponry, and the Pentagon denies supplying it|work=Military Times|author=Shawn Snow|date=7 May 2017}}</ref>

On 9 May 2017, it was announced by the Pentagon that American President [[Donald Trump]] approved of a plan that would have the United States directly provide heavy armaments to the major SDF component group, the YPG; the plan came before a planned final offensive to capture Raqqa from ISIS.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/us/politics/trump-kurds-syria-army.html|title=Trump to Arm Syrian Kurds, Even as Turkey Strongly Objects|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=9 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/05/09/in-blow-to-u-s-turkey-ties-trump-administration-approves-plan-to-directly-arm-syrian-kurds-against-islamic-state/|title=In blow to U.S.-Turkey ties, Trump administration approves plan to arm Syrian Kurds against Islamic State|newspaper=Washington Post|date=9 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-oks-arms-syrian-kurds-turkish-objections-47304210|title=Trump OKs arms for Syrian Kurds, despite Turkish objections|work=ABC News|date=9 May 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509185346/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-oks-arms-syrian-kurds-turkish-objections-47304210|archive-date=9 May 2017}}</ref>

==== Russia ====
With Russia's entrance into the war in late 2015 backing the Syrian government, some reports<!-- It is worth noting the source of the reports and their political affiliations in the Syrian Civil War.<ref>--> have reported that the YPG coordinated with or received weapons from Russia, with rival opposition groups stating that the timing and targeting of Russian airstrikes were "suspiciously advantageous" to the Kurdish militias.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUKKCN0VW16Z|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223220122/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUKKCN0VW16Z|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 February 2016|title=Britain says uneasy after evidence of Kurdish coordination with Syria and Russia|date=23 February 2016|agency=Reuters UK|language=en-GB|access-date=19 March 2016}}</ref>

Despite this, YPG officials have said they did not cooperate with Russia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2015/12/kurdish-fighters-in-aleppo-deny-receiving-russian-military-support/|title=Kurdish fighters in Aleppo deny receiving Russian military support |agency=ARA News|language=en-US|access-date=19 March 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328015034/http://aranews.net/2015/12/kurdish-fighters-in-aleppo-deny-receiving-russian-military-support/|archive-date=28 March 2016}}</ref> However, in July 2019, [[Rashid Abu Khawla]] the head of the [[Syrian Democratic Forces military councils#Deir ez-Zor|Syrian Democratic Forces' Deir ez-Zor Military Council]] stated that the Syrian Democratic Forces had cooperated with Russia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npasyria.com/en/blog.php?id_blog=454&sub_blog=10&name_blog=Abu%20Khawla:%20We%20coordinate%20with%20Russia%20and%20I%20brought%20thousands%20of%20opposition%20fighters%20to%20our%20areas|title=Abu Khawla: We coordinate with Russia and I brought thousands of opposition fighters to our areas|website=npasyria.com}}</ref>

=== Diplomatic relations ===
{{See also|Foreign relations of Rojava}}

Russia's position towards the YPG is not clear, and the US actively supports it, but their diplomatic relations with the PYD are the opposite. In January 2016 Russia pushed for the inclusion of the PYD in the Geneva talks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/260120161|title=Russia: Kurds should be included in Geneva talks |agency=Rudaw|language=en-US|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref> The YPG would like to open a representative branch in the US, but in March 2016 interview its leader implied that it was not allowed to do so.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kurdistantribune.com/2016/salih-muslim-time-has-proved-us-right/|title=Salih Muslim: Time Has Proved Us Right |website=The Kurdistan Tribune|date=16 March 2016 |language=en-US |quote=The West is fully aware that the Syrian Democratic Forces are an important and reliable active on the ground, hence the military support. Unfortunately, they have not yet approached us at a political level while they keep their ties with Saudi Arabia, Turkey ... However, we do hope political relations to materialize among us in the future.|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>

In February 2018, USA's [[Director of National Intelligence]] in the [[First cabinet of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] described YPG as the Syrian wing of PKK in its new report.<ref name="DNI2018">[https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/os-dcoats-021318.PDF Director of National Intelligence, Worldwide threat assessment of the US intelligence community], 13 February 2018. Quote: "The Kurdish People's Protection Unit—the Syrian militia of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)—probably will seek some form of autonomy but will face resistance from Russia, Iran, and Turkey."</ref>

=== International media outreach ===
The YPG's press office media operation has been a particular focus of its opponents, with Turkey bombing its premises in [[Cizire Canton]] in April 2017,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39708909|title=Turkey air strikes on Kurds in Syria and Iraq spark US concern|work=BBC News|date=25 April 2017|agency=BBC News}}</ref> and the [[Islamic State]] (IS) singling out its premises in [[Raqqa]] for a raid during the late stages of the [[Battle of Raqqa (2017)|Battle of Raqqa]] in September 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/27/british-film-maker-killed-mehmet-aksoy-militants-raqqa-syria|title=British film-maker killed by Isis militants in Syria|date=27 September 2017|work=The Guardian|author=Matt Blake}}</ref>

== Allegations concerning violations of international law and war crimes ==
{{Further|
Human rights in the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria#DFNS-associated militias|Syrian Democratic Forces#Reported war crimes|Human rights violations during the Syrian Civil War#Syrian Democratic Forces|Human rights in Syria#Human rights in the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria}}

=== Accusations of ethnic cleansing and forced displacements ===

In June 2015 the Turkish government stated that the YPG was carrying out an ethnic cleansing as part of a plan to join the Jazira and [[Kobanî Canton|Kobanî]] cantons into a single territory.<ref>{{cite web|title=Turkey accuses Kurdish forces of 'ethnic cleansing' in Syria|url=https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-accuses-kurdish-forces-ethnic-cleansing-syria-093148734.html|date=16 June 2015|agency=Agence France-Presse|quote=President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said he was troubled by the advance of Kurdish forces, saying they could in the future create a structure to threaten Turkey.}}</ref>

The [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] reacted by starting an inquiry into the allegations.<ref name="Rudaw.net">{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/14102015?keyword=amnesty|title=US voices concern over allegations of rights violations by YPG|date=14 October 2015|access-date=20 October 2015 |last1=Saeed |first1=Yerevan |quote=We'll look closely at all these accusations to determine whether there's any veracity to the claims ... We call on those who actually are or will participate in administering these areas to do so inclusively and with respect for all groups regardless of ethnicity|agency=[[Rudaw Media Network|Rudaw]]}}</ref>

In October 2015, [[Amnesty International]] published a report<ref>{{cite web|date=October 2015|title=We had nowhere else to go, Forced displacement and demolition in northern Syria|url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE2425032015ENGLISH.PDF|quote=In July and August 2015 Amnesty International investigated the forced displacement of residents from 10 villages and towns in areas under the control of the Autonomous Administration}}</ref> with reports that the YPG had driven at least 100 families from northern Syria and that in the villages of Asaylem and Husseiniya it had demolished resident homes. The report was made by Amnesty visiting the area contained in the report. It made local observations of destruction, and collected testimonies from former and actual residents of [[Al-Hasakah Governorate|al-Hasakeh]] and [[Raqqa Governorate|Raqqa]] governorates. It found cases of YPG fighters forcibly displacing residents and using fire and bulldozers to raze homes and other structures.<ref name="amnesty.org">{{cite web|date=13 October 2015|title=Syria: US ally's razing of villages amounts to war crimes|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/syria-us-allys-razing-of-villages-amounts-to-war-crimes|access-date=17 October 2015|work=Amnesty International}}</ref><ref name="bbc.com">{{cite news|date=13 October 2015|title=Syria Kurds 'razing villages seized from IS' – Amnesty|agency=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34511134|quote=Of 225 buildings visible [in Husseiniya] in June 2014, only 14 were still standing by June 2015.}}</ref>

In a report published by the [[United Nations]]' [[Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic]] on 10 March 2017, the Commission refuted Amnesty International's reports of ethnic cleansing, stating that "'though allegations of 'ethnic cleansing' continued to be received during the period under review, the Commission found no evidence to substantiate reports that YPG or SDF forces ever targeted Arab communities on the basis of ethnicity."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://komnews.com/syria-and-islamist-groups-guilty-of-war-crimes-ypg-cleared-un-report/|title=Syria and Islamist groups guilty of war crimes, YPG cleared: UN report|work=Kom News|date=15 March 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317054645/https://komnews.com/syria-and-islamist-groups-guilty-of-war-crimes-ypg-cleared-un-report/|archive-date=17 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="UN report counters">{{cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/un-report-counters-amnesty-internationals-claim-that-kurds-are-ethnically-cleansing-in-syria/|title=UN report counters Amnesty International's claim that Kurds are ethnically cleansing in Syria|first=Paul|last=Antonopoulos|date=15 March 2017|access-date=9 May 2017|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112033742/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/un-report-counters-amnesty-internationals-claim-that-kurds-are-ethnically-cleansing-in-syria/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="refutes">{{cite web|url=http://ekurd.net/ypg-changing-demographics-2017-03-14|title=UN report refutes ethnic cleansing claims against Syrian Kurdish YPG, SDF|date=14 March 2017|access-date=9 May 2017}}</ref> Forced displacement of civilians and destruction of civilian property is not a war crime per se. These acts only become a war crime when there is no "imperative military necessity" for them. Amnesty International stated the report documents cases in which there was no such justification.<ref name=":0" />{{Dead link|date=October 2021}} It furthermore states that "the circumstances of some of these displacements suggested that they were carried out in retaliation for people's perceived sympathies with, or family ties to, suspected members of IS or other armed groups",<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=We had nowhere else to go, Forced displacement and demolition in northern Syria|url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE2425032015ENGLISH.PDF|date=October 2015|quote=The circumstances of some of the instances of forced displacement documented in this report suggest that they were carried out in retaliation for people's perceived sympathies with, or family ties to, suspected members of IS or other armed groups. This would constitute collective punishment, which is a violation of international humanitarian law.|access-date=27 March 2016|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208051131/https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE2425032015ENGLISH.PDF|url-status=dead}}</ref> thus constituting "collective punishment, which is a violation of international humanitarian law".

In interviews, YPG spokespersons acknowledged that a number of families were in fact displaced. However, they placed the number at no more than 25, and stated military necessity.<ref name=":1" /> They stated that the family members of terrorists maintained communications with them, and therefore had to be removed from areas where they might pose a danger.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|date=October 2015|title=We had nowhere else to go, Forced displacement and demolition in northern Syria|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MDE2425032015ENGLISH.pdf|access-date=20 October 2021|website=[[Amnesty International]]|page=28|quote=In some dangerous areas there are some specific cases that are very small, resulting from the terrorist threat, where families were sent away from the area ... Only 25 families were forced to leave across Rojava ... (They are told) 'Folks, remove your things please, and if you leave from this area until the war ends it will be a good thing ...' You have terrorists in al-Raqqa and their families – the uncle, and brother, and sister – are here, and they are in communication, giving them information. We were forced to distance these families. Not detain them. Distance them. Take them outside of the area.}}</ref> They further stated that IS was using civilians in those areas to plant car bombs or carry out other attacks on the YPG.<ref>{{cite web|date=October 2015|title=We had nowhere else to go, Forced displacement and demolition in northern Syria|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MDE2425032015ENGLISH.pdf|access-date=20 October 2021|website=[[Amnesty International]]|page=29|quote=He added that IS was benefiting from the presence of civilians in these areas, and using them to plant car bombs or carry out other attacks on the YPG.}}</ref> By describing the events in Hammam al-Turkman before the village was evacuated, the Amnesty International report itself inadvertently supports these YPG reports of military necessity.<ref>{{cite web|date=October 2015|title=We had nowhere else to go, Forced displacement and demolition in northern Syria|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MDE2425032015ENGLISH.pdf|website=[[Amnesty International]]|page=17|quote=After the YPG took the village, on 15 June, a car bomb killed three YPG fighters 4&nbsp;km from Hammam al-Turkman at a checkpoint in Damishli. The following day there were skirmishes between the YPG and IS in the village before IS was pushed back. A second car bomb went off at a YPG checkpoint at the health clinic in the village on 18 June killing a YPG fighter and injuring one civilian and three days later IS shot and killed a second YPG fighter near the clinic. It was after the death of this fighter that the residents were told by the YPG that they had to leave the village.}}</ref>

=== Recruitment of minors ===
In June 2014, [[Human Rights Watch]] criticized the YPG for accepting minors into their ranks, picking up on multiple earlier reports of teenage fighters serving in the YPG, with a report by the [[United Nations]] [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary General]] stating that 24 minors under age of 18 had been recruited by YPG, compared to 124 having been recruited by the Free Syrian Army and 5 by the Syrian Arab Army.<ref name="children">{{cite report |author=[[United Nations Security Council|U.N. Security Council]] |date=5 June 2015 |title=Report of the Secretary-General: Children and armed conflict |url=https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/69/926 |at=para. 191 |quote=Actual numbers are expected to be higher.... A number of pro-Government groups, including Hizbullah, also reportedly recruited children in small numbers.}}</ref> In response, the YPG and YPJ signed the [[Geneva Call]] ''Deed of Commitment'' protecting children in armed conflict, prohibiting sexual violence and against gender discrimination in July 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syria-4-brigades-free-syrian-army-commit-prohibit-sexual-violence-and|title=Syria: 4 brigades of the Free Syrian Army commit to prohibit sexual violence and the use of child soldiers [EN/AR] – Syrian Arab Republic|website=ReliefWeb|date=3 July 2017 }}</ref>  Kurdish security forces (YPG and [[Asayish (Syria)|Asayish]]) began receiving human rights training from Geneva Call and other international organizations with the YPG pledging to demobilize all fighters under 18 within a month and began to enact disciplinary measures against commanders of the units that had involved in corruption and accepting recruit under age of 18 to their ranks.<ref>{{cite web|title=Syria: Kurdish Forces Violating Child Soldier Ban Despite Promises, Children Still Fight|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/07/10/syria-kurdish-forces-violating-child-soldier-ban-0|website=Human Rights Watch|date=15 July 2015|access-date=15 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Perry |first1=Tom |last2=Malla |first2=Naline |date=10 September 2015 |title=Western states train Kurdish force in Syria, force's leader says |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUKKCN0RA1MO20150910 |work=[[Reuters]] |quote=Amnesty International this month faulted the Kurdish administration for arbitrary detentions and unfair trials.... [Ciwan] Ibrahim said ... efforts were underway to improve its human rights record.... The Geneva Call ... promotes good treatment of civilians in war zones... }}</ref> In October 2015 the YPG demobilized 21 minors from the military service in its ranks.<ref name="Demobilized children">{{cite report |date=28 October 2015 |title=YPG demobilizes 21 children under the age of 18 from the military service in its ranks |url=http://www.syriahr.com/en/2015/10/ypg-demobilizes-21-children-under-the-age-of-18-from-the-military-service-in-its-ranks/ |publisher=[[Syrian Observatory for Human Rights]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121223140/http://supportkurds.org/news/wednesday-28-october-2015/ |archive-date=21 November 2015}}</ref>

According to the annual UN report of 2018,<ref>{{cite web|title=Syria: Armed Group Recruiting Children in Camps|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/03/syria-armed-group-recruiting-children-camps|website=Human Rights Watch|date=3 August 2018|access-date=14 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |url=http://undocs.org/s/2018/465|author=[[United Nations Security Council|U.N. Security Council]] |date=16 May 2018 |title=Report of the Secretary-General: Children and armed conflict |access-date=23 October 2019 }}</ref> there were 224 cases of child recruitment by the YPG and its women's unit, the YPJ, in 2017, an almost fivefold increase from the previous year.  This sparked immediate conversations with the anti-child-recruitment [[NGO]] Geneva Call which resulted in a broad new military directive strictly prohibiting all recruitment of persons under 18, ordering that any such persons within SDF be immediately removed from the payroll and transferred to the custody of the civilian Authority For Education, mandating the appointment of an [[ombudsman]] in each military service to receive and investigate reports of child recruitment, and ordering punitive measures by military police and by the SDF's Military Discipline Department against anyone found to be responsible for child recruitment. Geneva Call immediately praised the SDF's wide-ranging initiative to eliminate and prevent child recruitment throughout all of SDF's military organizations.<ref>{{cite news|last=van Wilgenburg|first=Wladimir|author-link=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|date=7 September 2018|title=SDF command issues order banning child recruitment|publisher=[[Kurdistan24]]|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/380c0f07-bd15-4d0b-b57b-1cd23b7bf977|access-date=20 October 2021}}</ref>

In June 2020, United Nations reported the YPG/YPJ as the largest faction in the [[Syrian civil war]] by the number of recruited child soldiers with 283 child soldiers followed by [[Hayat Tahrir al-Sham]] with 245 child soldiers.<ref>{{cite web |title=General Assembly Security Council Seventy-fourth session Seventy-fifth year Agenda item 66 (a) Promotion and protection of the rights of children |url=https://www.un.org/sg/sites/www.un.org.sg/files/atoms/files/15-June-2020_Secretary-General_Report_on_CAAC_Eng.pdf |publisher=United Nations |access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref>

On 15 July 2020, SDF issued a new military order prohibiting child recruitment.  The [[NGO]] ''Fight For Humanity'' conducted multiple training sessions with hundreds of SDF commanders about the UN-SDF Action Plan To Prevent Child Recruitment, and distributed informational posters and flyers about it written in both [[Arabic]] and [[Kurdish languages|Kurdish]], as part of an ongoing educational process.  Syria-based researcher Thomas McClure observed that “SDF are less likely to engage in such practices than any of the other forces in Syria, but seek to hold themselves to a higher standard of accountability and human rights.”<ref>{{cite news|last=van Wilgenburg|first=Wladimir|author-link=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|date=15 July 2020|title=SDF issues new directives to protect schools, children from military conflict|publisher=[[Kurdistan24]]|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/dd6c84da-76e6-4704-a1d5-a3d929d1ca22|access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref>

On 29 August 2020, SDF announced the creation of a new system that anyone can use to confidentially report to specialized Child Protection offices any suspected case of child recruitment, in accordance with the action plan that the SDF signed with the [[United Nations]] in the summer of 2019.<ref>{{cite news|date=29 August 2020|title=SDF announce new measure to tackle recruitment of child soldiers|publisher=[[Rudaw]]|url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/29082020|access-date=20 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=van Wilgenburg|first=Wladimir|author-link=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|date=30 August 2020|title=New mechanism allows civilians to report child recruitment in northeast Syria|publisher=[[Kurdistan24]]|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/8c9b34b2-4a11-4614-87f2-f1d3269bc664}}</ref>

On 23 April 2021, the UN released its third report on child recruitment in Syria, noting that the SDF's action plan had resulted in a significant decrease in child recruitment (from 216 cases in early 2019 to only 41 cases in early 2020), but that elsewhere in Syria, child recruitment continued to be systematic and widespread within Syrian government and non-government armed forces.<ref>{{cite news|last=van Wilgenburg|first=Wladimir|author-link=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|date=22 May 2021|title=Child recruitment by SDF down significantly since 2019, UN says|publisher=[[Kurdistan24]]|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/24554-Child-recruitment-by-SDF-down-significantly-since-2019,-UN-says}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Asia}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[International Freedom Battalion]]
* [[Kurdish Front]]
* [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK)
* [[Party of Free Life of Kurdistan]] (PJAK)
* [[Peshmerga]]
* [[Sutoro]]
* [[YPG–FSA relations]]
* [[AANES–Syria relations]]
* [[List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War]]
}}

== References ==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book
|last=Rashid
|first=Bedir Mulla
|translator=Obaida Hitto
|title= Military and Security Structures of the Autonomous Administration in Syria
|url=http://omranstudies.org/publications/reports/download/68_d403f01ed28320cb2e67b13cffb381c7.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701140230/http://omranstudies.org/publications/reports/download/68_d403f01ed28320cb2e67b13cffb381c7.html
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=1 July 2018
|orig-year=1st pub. 2017
|date=2018
|publisher=Omran for Strategic Studies
|location=[[Istanbul]]
}}

== External links ==
* {{Facebook|YPGinfo|name=YPG}}
{{Syrian Kurdistan topics}}
{{Kurdish nationalist organisations}}
{{Syrian Civil War}}
{{Military of the Arab world}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:People's Defense Units| ]]
[[Category:Apoist organizations in Syria]]
[[Category:2011 establishments in Syria]]
[[Category:Kurdistan Communities Union]]
[[Category:Syrian Kurdish organizations]]
[[Category:Irregular units and formations]]
[[Category:Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 2011]]
[[Category:Organizations designated as terrorist by Turkey]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist]]