The United Freedom Forces ( tr, Birleşik Özgürlük Güçleri, or BÖG) is a joint expatriate militia of several

revolutionary socialist Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revoluti ...

organizations from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, most notably the

Revolutionary Communard Party The Revolutionary Communard Party ( tr, Devrimci Komünarlar Partisi, DKP) is a left-wing political organisation founded on 4 February 2016, following the merger of the Liberation Movement and the Turkish Revolutionary Party. The DKP is part of t ...

(DKP), active in the

Rojava conflict The Rojava conflict, also known as the Rojava Revolution, is a political upheaval and military conflict taking place in northern Syria, known among Kurds as Western Kurdistan or Rojava. During the Syrian civil war that began in 2011, a Kurdish- ...

of the Syrian Civil War. Inspired by the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, the militia was founded in December 2014 in Kobanê within the ''de facto'' autonomous region of Rojava in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. The predominant

Hoxhaist Hoxhaism () is a variant of Anti-revisionism, anti-revisionist Marxism–Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the anti-revisionist movement, appearing after the Sino-Albanian split, ideological dispute between the Chinese ...

Marxist–Leninist Communist Party and the

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

TİKKO The International Freedom Battalion ( tr, Enternasyonalist Özgürlük Taburu; ku, Tabûra Azadî ya Înternasyonal; ar, تابور الحرية العالمي), commonly abbreviated as IFB or EÖT, is a Revolutionary socialism, revolutionary ...

did not join the United Freedom Forces, but together with other communist groups from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, in June 2015, they altogether formed the International Freedom Battalion.

Member groups

Revolutionary Communard Party

The

( tr, Devrimci Komünarlar Partisi, abbreviated as DKP) is a

group from Turkey. It was founded in February 2016 as a merger of the Proletarian Revolutionary Liberation Organisation ( tr, Proleter Devrimci Kurtuluş Örgütü, abbreviated as PDKÖ) and the Revolution Party of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Devrim Partisi, abbreviated as TDP).

Devrimci Karargâh Devrimci Karargâh ( en, Revolutionary Headquarters) was a nominally Marxist-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist organization in Turkey. DK first came to public attention in April 2009, when some of its members were involved in a six-hour gun battle with ...

joined in 2017. The party is the most notable group behind BÖG and also part of the

Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement The Peoples' United Revolutionary Movement or HBDH ( tr, Halkların Birleşik Devrim Hareketi) is a far-left self-declared alliance of ten mostly Kurdish leftist, revolutionary socialist, and communist organizations in Turkey. The alliance was d ...

alliance in Turkey with the PKK and nine other groups.

MLSPB-DC

The Marxist–Leninist Armed Propaganda Corps-Revolutionary Front ( tr, Marksist Leninist Silahlı Propaganda Birliği-Devrim Cephesi, abbreviated as MLSPB-DC) is a communist armed group from Turkey. A battalion was created by Devrimci Karargâh and MLSPB-DC named after Alper Çakas, an MLSPB-DC fighter killed while fighting in Rojava. It is also part of the

Sosyal İsyan

Social Insurrection ( tr, Sosyal İsyan, abbreviated as Sİ) is a

green anarchist Green anarchism (or eco-anarchism"green anarchism (also called eco-anarchism)" in ''An Anarchist FAQ'' by various authors.) is an anarchist school of thought that puts a particular emphasis on ecology and environmental issues. A green anarchist ...

and

platformist Platformism is a form of anarchist organization that seeks unity from its participants, having as a defining characteristic the idea that each platformist organization should include only people that are fully in agreement with core group ideas, r ...

group from Turkey. Sİ was founded in 2013, in the Tuzluçayır district of

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. Members of the group cite the influence of

Alfredo M. Bonanno Alfredo Maria Bonanno (born 1937 in Catania, Italy) is a main theorist of contemporary insurrectionary anarchism A long-time anarchist, he has been imprisoned multiple times. Bonanno is an editor of ''Anarchismo Editions'' and many other publi ...

Nestor Makhno Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, The surname "Makhno" ( uk, Махно́) was itself a corruption of Nestor's father's surname "Mikhnenko" ( uk, Міхненко). ( 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ("Father Makhno"),; According to ...

, and

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, , ; 15 January 1809, Besançon – 19 January 1865, Paris) was a French socialist,Landauer, Carl; Landauer, Hilde Stein; Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl (1979) 959 "The Three Anticapitalistic Movements". ''European Socia ...

Units

*Women's Freedom Forces (Kadın Özgürlük Gücü) *Devrimci Cephe **

*Aziz Güler Özgürlük Gücü Milis Örgütü *Kader Ortakaya Timi *Kızılbaş Timi *Mahir Arpaçay Devrimci Savaş Okulu *Necdet Adalı Müfrezesi *Spartaküs Timi *Şehit Bedreddin Taburu *Kader Ortakaya Timi *Emek ve Özgürlük Cephesi

Controversy with Turkey

On 21 September 2015, BÖG commander Aziz Güler (

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

: Rasih Kurtuluş) was killed by a landmine explosion whilst fighting against ISIL. His body was taken to a hospital in Serê Kaniyê (Ras al-Ayn) to be brought back to

. Turkish authorities refused to allow his body into the country, sparking controversy. His family had appealed to the Suruç district governorate, which rejected their application due to an invisible order by the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

, and the

Constitutional Court of Turkey The Constitutional Court of Turkey ( tr, , sometimes abbreviated as ''AYM'') is the highest legal body for constitutional review in Turkey. It "examines the constitutionality, in respect of both form and substance, of laws, decrees having the for ...

, which also rejected their requests, before turning to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

. After 59 days, Güler's body was able to enter Turkey and was buried in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

on 22 November 2015.

External links

References

Bibliography

* {{cite magazine , author = The Carter Center , date = 27 February 2017 , title = Foreign Volunteers for the Syrian Kurdish Forces , url = https://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/peace/conflict_resolution/syria-conflict/foreign-volunteers-for-syrian-kurdish-forces-2017.02.23.pdf , location =

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, publisher =

Carter Center The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University just after his defeat in the 1980 United States presidenti ...

2014 establishments in Syria Anarchist militant groups Anarchist organizations in Turkey Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Communist militant groups Communist organizations in Turkey Expatriate units and formations in the Syrian civil war Far-left politics in Turkey Guerrilla organizations International Freedom Battalion Kurdish organisations Left-wing militant groups in Turkey Military units and formations established in 2014 Political party alliances in Turkey