People's Protection Units

2004: Early origins

Kurdish youth 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 supposedly 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.^[9][10]

2012: Establishment

Existing underground Kurdish political parties, namely the 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.^[11]

July 2012: 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.^[11][12]

By December 2012, it had expanded to 8 brigades, which were formed in Qamishlo, Kobanî, and Ras al-Ayn (Serê Kaniyê) and in the districts of Afrin, al-Malikiyah, and al-Bab.^[13]

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) in order to prevent the FSA from gaining more power in the area. 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.^[14]

While many rebel groups clashed with the YPG, jihadist and Salafist groups did so the most often.^[15] The YPG proved to be the only Kurdish militia able to effectively resist the fundamentalists.^[16] 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.^[17] This was how the Islamist attacks enabled the YPG to unite the Syrian Kurds under its banner^[18] and caused^[19] it to become the de facto army of the Syrian Kurds.^{[20][21][22][23]}

2013: Kurdish control of al-Yaarubiyah/Til Koçer

In October 2013, YPG fighters took control of al-Yaarubiyah (Til Koçer) following intense clashes with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. 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.^[24] PYD leader Saleh Muslim told Stêrk TV that this success created an alternative against efforts to hold the territory under embargo,^[24] 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 ISIL

YPG-controlled territory, February 2014

In 2014, the Syriac Military Council, a group of 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 ISIL in January 2014. The YPG collaborated with FSA groups to fight ISIL in Raqqa province;^[25] the group also formed an operations room with multiple FSA factions, called Euphrates Volcano.^[26] However, the general outcome of this campaign was a massive advance by ISIL, which effectively separated the eastern part of Rojava from the main force of FSA rebels. ISIL 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 ISIL in eastern Syria, it escalated to bombing ISIL 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 ISIL would quickly crush the YPG and the FSA, this alliance was not considered a problem for the US.^[27] The YPG won the battle in early 2015.

Meanwhile, the situation had been stable in Afrin and Aleppo. The fight between the FSA and ISIL 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.^[28]

Spring 2015: offensive operations with coalition support

YPG-controlled territory, June 2015

In the spring 2015, ISIL was close to capturing the Iraqi city of Ramadi. The YPG was able and willing to offensively engage and put pressure on ISIL and had built up a track record as a reliable military partner of the US. With American close air support, offensives near Hasakah and from Hasakah westward culminated in the conquest of Tell Abyad, linking up Kobanî with Hasakah in July 2015.

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.^[29]

Autumn 2015: foundation of the SDF

The Syrian Democratic Forces was established in Hasakah on 11 October 2015. It has its origins in the YPG-FSA collaboration against ISIL, 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 Assyrians.

The first success of the SDF was the capture of the strategic ethnically Arab town of al-Hawl from ISIL during the 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.^[30] The capture of the hydroelectric dam also had positive effects on the economy of Rojava.^[31]

2016

SDF-controlled territory, October 2016

In February, the YPG-majority SDF launched the al-Shaddadi offensive, followed by the Manbij offensive in May, and the Raqqa and Aleppo offensives in November. These operations extended SDF-controlled territory, usually at ISIL's expense.

On 7 April 2016, the Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsood in Aleppo was shelled with mortars that may have contained chemical agents (160 killed or wounded).^[32][33] 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.^[34]

2018: Turkish military intervention

Flags

Flags of the People's Protection Units

Red flag of the YPG, used since 2011 until early 2013 

Variant of the red flag, also used until early 2013 

Yellow flag of the YPG, first used since late 2012, widely adopted in 2013 and since then the official flag of the militia 

Units

In 2017, the YPG began to form units called regiments in translation, though they are smaller than comparable units in standard militaries.

Tactics

According to a report in IHS Jane's regarding the YPG,

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.^[38]

The YPG relies heavily on snipers 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 of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces who have better equipment, including helmets and body armor.^[39]

The YPG and HPG have also trained and equipped more than 1,000 Yazidis, who operate in the Mount Sinjar area as local defense units under their supervision.^[39]

The YPG considers itself a people's army, and therefore appoints officers by internal elections.^[40]

A 20 year old female YPG 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 Afrin Offensive, killing herself and several soldiers with her in the process.^[41][42] The attacked was commended by pro-SDF sources as a courageous attack against a tank with explosives, with her dying in the process.^[43]

Equipment

Compared to other factions engaged in the Syrian Civil war, the YPG has not received significant foreign assistance in the form of weapons and military equipment. According to the YPG, circumstances led to their capture of less equipment from the Syrian Army than other opposition groups did. The figures below are estimates only based on the balance sheet that the YPG regularly publishes of its activities.^[44]

Small arms

Name	Country of origin	Type	Number	Caliber	Notes
Makarov pistol	Soviet Union	Pistol	Thousands	9×18mm	1
Browning Hi-Power	Belgium	Pistol	Thousands	9×19mm
Glock	Austria	Pistol	unknown	9×19mm	1 2 3
Beretta M12	Italy	Submachine Gun	Thousands	9×19mm	1
MP5	Germany	Submachine Gun	unknown	9×19mm	1 2 3
M4 carbine	United States	Assault rifle	Thousands	5.56×45mm	1 2 3 4 5
M16 rifle	United States	Assault rifle	Thousands	5.56×45mm	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
FN FAL	Belgium	Battle rifle	unknown	7.62×51mm	1 2 3 4 5
Steyr AUG	Austria	Bullpup assault rifle	unknown	5.56×45mm	1
Steyr HS .50	Austria	Anti-materiel sniper rifle	unknown	12.7×99mm	1 2
Zagros Rifle[45]	Rojava	Anti-materiel rifle	Hundreds	12.7×108mm	self made anti-materiel rifle 1 2 3
Zijiang M99	China	Anti-materiel rifle	unknown	12.7×108mm	1 2 3 4
AK-47	Soviet Union	Assault rifle	Tens of Thousands	7.62×39mm	1 2 3 4 5 6 7
AKM	Soviet Union	Assault rifle	Tens of Thousands	7.62×39mm	1
AKS-74U	Soviet Union	Carbine	?	5.45×39mm	1
AK-74	Soviet Union	Assault rifle	?	5.45×39mm	1
AK-74M	Russia	Assault rifle	?	5.45×39mm	1
AK-103	Russia	Assault rifle	?	5.45×39mm	1
AK-104	Russia	Assault rifle	?	7.62×39mm	1 2 3
Type 56	China	Assault rifle	Tens of Thousands	7.62×39mm	1 2 3
Type 88	North Korea	Assault rifle	?	5.45×39mm
PM md. 63/65	Socialist Republic of Romania	Assault rifle	Tens of Thousands	7.62×39mm	1 2 3
MPi-KM	East Germany	Assault rifle	Tens of Thousands	7.62×39mm	1 2 3
AK-63	Hungary	Assault rifle	Tens of Thousands	7.62×39mm
AMD 65	Hungary	Assault rifle	Tens of Thousands	7.62×39mm	1
Kbk wz. 1988 Tantal	Poland	Assault rifle	?	5.45×39mm	1
Blaser R93 Tactical	Germany	Sniper rifle	Unknown	7.62×51mm	1
Dragunov sniper rifle	Soviet Union	Sniper rifle	Unknown	7.62×54mmR	1 2 3 4
PSL (rifle)	Socialist Republic of Romania	Sniper rifle	Unknown	7.62×54mmR	1 2 3
Tabuk Sniper Rifle	Iraq	Sniper rifle	Unknown	7.62×39mm	1
Mosin–Nagant	Soviet Union	Rifle	Unknown	7.62×54mmR	1 2
Rheinmetall MG 3	Germany	General-purpose machine gun	Few	7.62×51mm	1
FN MAG	Belgium	General-purpose machine gun	Few	7.62×51mm	1
M249	United States	Light machine gun	?	5.56×45mm	1
RPK	Soviet Union	Light machine gun	Unknown	7.62×39mm	1
Ultimax 100	Singapore	Light machine gun	Unknown	5.56×45mm
Zastava M72	Yugoslavia	Light machine gun	Unknown	7.62×39mm	1
PK machine gun	Soviet Union	General-purpose machine gun	Hundreds	7.62×54mmR	1 2 3
Zastava M84	Yugoslavia	General-purpose machine gun	Hundreds	7.62×54mmR	1
M2 Browning	United States	Heavy machine gun	?	12.7×99mm	1
M1919 Browning machine gun	United States	Medium machine gun	?	7.62×51mm	1 2
DShK	Soviet Union	Heavy machine gun	Dozens	12.7×108mm	1 2 3 4
KPV heavy machine gun	Soviet Union	Heavy machine gun	A few dozen	14.5×114mm	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Anti-tank weaponry

Name	Country of origin	Type	Number	Caliber	Notes
RPG-7	Soviet Union	Rocket-propelled grenade	Thousands	40mm	YPG's RPG are supposed to be of this type 1 2 3 4
Type 69 RPG	China	Rocket-propelled grenade	Thousands	40mm	1 2
M79 Osa	Yugoslavia	Anti-tank weapon	Few	90mm	1 2 3 4
FGM-148 Javelin	United States	Anti-tank missile	?	127mm	Disputed, spotted in YPG hands in February 2016 1 2
Mk 19	United States	grenade launcher	?	40×53mm	1
RBG-6	Croatia	grenade launcher	?	40×46mm	1
GP-25	Russia	grenade launcher	?	40 mm	1
MILAN	France	Anti-tank missile	?	115mm	1 2 3
BGM-71 TOW	United States	Anti-tank missile	?	152mm	1
AT-4 Spigot	Soviet Union	Anti-tank missile	?	120mm	1
AT-5 spandrel	Russia	Anti-tank missile	?	115mm	1
AT-13 Saxhorn-2	Russia	Anti-tank missile	?	130mm	1
SPG-9	Soviet Union	Recoilless Rifle	?	73mm	1
IED	Rojava	Improvised explosive device	?	N/a

Mortar

Name	Country of origin	Type	Number	Caliber	Notes
82-BM-37	Soviet Union	Mortar	A dozen	82mm	captured, SAA had 200
M1938 mortar	Soviet Union	Mortar	A dozen	120mm	captured, SAA had 300
120-PM-43 mortar	Soviet Union	Mortar	A dozen	120mm	captured, SAA had 400
Improvised mortars	Syria	Improvised mortars	Several	Various	Captured from Syrian Opposition
Hell Cannon	Syria	Improvised mortars	Several	Various	Captured from Free Syrian Army

Unarmored vehicles

All are pickup trucks which were either modified to hold weapons, or are used to transport troops to battlefields.

Name	Country of origin	Type	Number	Notes
Toyota Hilux	Japan	Improvised fighting vehicle	Thousands
Safir[46][47]	Iran		Unknown

Armored vehicles

Name	Country of origin	Type	# in Afrin	# in East Rojava	Notes
Humvee	United States	Armoured fighting vehicle	0	Dozens	20+ received as aid in November 2017 [48]. Others captured from ISIS, whom likely captured from Iraqi military forces donated by the United States when they left Iraq.
T-55 with 2*14.5MG[49]	Soviet Union	Main battle tank	0	1	Well designed local variant with twin 14.5MG, used in eastern Syria
T-55	Soviet Union	Main battle tank	1[50]	6?	Captured from the Menagh Military Airbase.
T-72[51]	Soviet Union	Main battle tank	2[50]	0	At least 1 used in the Northern Aleppo offensive (2016), 1 destroyed by the Falcons of Mount Zawiya Brigade[52]

Foreign volunteers

German, French, and 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 ISIL suicide bomb, he developed the "Lions of Rojava" recruitment campaign for foreign volunteers,^[53] launched on 21 October 2014 on Facebook.^[54][55] More than 400 volunteers from Europe, the Americas and Australia have joined the YPG as of 11 June 2015,^[56] including at least ten U.S. volunteers, three of which were U.S. Army veterans.^{[57][58][59][60]} People from both China and the Chinese diaspora have also joined.^[61]

Other prominent foreign volunteers have included Macer Gifford,^[62] Ryan Lock,^[63] Michael Israel,^[64] Dean Evans^[65] and Jac Holmes.^[66]

Dozens of non-Kurdish Turks (from both Turkey and the European diaspora) have also joined.^[57] The Turkish 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.^[67]

Foreign government support

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

A US military officer and YPG and YPJ commanders tour an area hit by Turkish airstrikes in April 2017

U.S. armored vehicle in Al-Hasakah, May 2017

The United States provided the YPG with air support during the Siege of Kobanî^[98] and during later campaigns, helping the YPG defend territory against attacks by the Islamic State.^[99] Turkey has criticised US support.^[100]

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.^[101]

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 ISIL north of Raqqa. The first airdrop consisted of 112 pallets of ammunition and 'other items like hand grenades', totaling 50 tons.^[102] 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.^[103]

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 ISIS.^[104][105] Some of these special forces participated in the al-Shaddadi offensive (2016) and coordinated airstrikes against ISIL.^[106]

During the Battle of Tabqa (2017), YPG special forces were equipped with US-supplied combat helmets, AN/PVS-7 night vision devices, flashlights, and were armed with M4 carbines equipped with AN/PEQ-2 laser sights, holographic weapon sights, and STANAG magazines.^[107]

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 comes before a planned final offensive to capture Raqqa from ISIL.^{[108][109][110]}

Diplomatic relations

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.^[113] In February 2016 the PYD opened a branch representative office in Moscow.^[114] In contrast to this the YPG denied any coordination with officials from the U.S. State Department. 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.^[115]

On 14 February, Director of National Intelligence described YPG as the Syrian wing of PKK in its new report.^[116]

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,^[117] and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) singling out its premises in Raqqa for a raid during the late stages of the Battle of Raqqa in September 2017.^[118]

Ethnic cleansing

In June 2015 the Turkish government alleged that the YPG was carrying out an ethnic cleansing as part of a plan to join the Jazira and Kobanî cantons into a single territory.^[119]

The U.S. State Department reacted by starting an inquiry into the allegations.^[120] Its initial reaction to the report was quite skeptical, claiming it had to determine if there was "any veracity to the claims", but showed concern by calling for any administrator in the area to rule "with respect for all groups regardless of ethnicity". The fact that the report does not make any claim of the YPG targeting people based on ethnicity was probably one of the reasons why they did not take it seriously, especially when there were dozens of similar reports regarding the Syrian government, Al-Nusra Front and Free Syrian Army, who have all committed serious war crimes.

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 claims 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 claims that YPG or SDF forces ever targeted Arab communities on the basis of ethnicity."^{[121][122][123]}

Forced displacement

In October 2015, Amnesty International published a report^[124] with claims 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-Hasakeh and Raqqa governorates. It found cases of YPG fighters forcibly displacing residents and using fire and bulldozers to raze homes and other structures.^[125][126]

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 claims the report documents cases in which there was no such justification.^[127] It furthermore claims 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 ISIL or other armed groups",^[128] 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,^[129] and claimed military necessity. 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.^[130] They further stated that ISIL was using civilians in those areas to plant car bombs or carry out other attacks on the YPG.^[131] By describing the events in Hammam al-Turkman before the village was evacuated, the report itself inadvertently supports these claims of military necessity.^[132]

Recruitment of minors

In June 2014, Human Rights Watch criticized the YPG for accepting minors into their ranks,^[133] picking up on multiple earlier reports of teenage fighters serving in the YPG, with a report by the United Nations Secretary General stating that 24 minors under age of 18 had been recruited by YPG, with 124 having been recruited by the Free Syrian Army and 5 by the Syrian Arab Army.^[134] 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,^[135] and Kurdish security forces (YPG and Asayish) began receiving human rights training from Geneva Call and other international organisations with the YPG pledging publicly 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.^[136][137] In October 2015 the YPG demobilized 21 minors from the military service in its ranks.^[138]

In response to reports issued by international organisations such as Human Rights Watch,^[139] the general command of the SDF issued a military order prohibiting the recruitment of children.^[140]