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 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 ...

armed group consisting of leftist foreign fighters fighting for the

People's Defense Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democr ...

in the Syrian Civil War in support of the

Rojava Revolution 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 ...

and against the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...

, the Syrian National Army, and

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

. The formation of the IFB was announced in June 2015 in

Ras al-Ayn Ras al-Ayn ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْعَيْن, Raʾs al-ʿAyn, ku, سەرێ کانیێ, Serê Kaniyê, syc, ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ, Rēš Aynā), also spelled Ras al-Ain, is a city in al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, on the Syria–Turkey ...

. Inspiration for the group came from the International Brigades 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, link ...

. The political ideologies of the fighters include anarchism,

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and various c ...

Hoxhaism Hoxhaism () is a variant of anti-revisionist Marxism–Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the anti-revisionist movement, appearing after the ideological dispute between the Chinese Communist Party and the Party of Labo ...

Maoism 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 ...

, and

anarcho-communism Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains res ...

Main groups

The International Freedom Battalion was formed by

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

armed groups (as well as individuals not part of any other groups), most of whom had been fighting with the YPG before the creation of the IFB. These groups include:

Birleşik Özgürlük Güçleri

The

United Freedom Forces The United Freedom Forces ( tr, Birleşik Özgürlük Güçleri, or BÖG) is a joint expatriate militia of several revolutionary socialist organizations from Turkey, most notably the Revolutionary Communard Party (DKP), active in the Rojava ...

( tr, Birleşik Özgürlük Güçleri, or BÖG), inspired by the International Brigades of the

, were founded in December 2014 in the town of Kobanî as an organization of foreign leftist fighters of both

and anarchist convictions. While the MLKP didn't join, these groups would eventually unite in the International Freedom Battalion. BÖG also has a female branch named "Women's Freedom Forces" (''Kadın Özgürlük Gücü'' in Turkish). BÖG is considered to be the largest group within the International Freedom Battalion. BOG contains several factions, ''see Member groups''

Marksist-Leninist Komünist Partisi

The Marxist–Leninist Communist Party ( tr, Marksist-Leninist Komünist Partisi, abbreviated as MLKP) is an underground Hoxhaist communist party from

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

. MLKP fighters had reportedly been sent to Syria to fight with the

since 2012. MLKP fighters also joined the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...

's (PKK)

December 2014 Sinjar offensive The Sinjar offensive was a combination of operations of Kurdish Peshmerga, PKK and People's Protection Units forces in December 2014, to recapture regions formerly lost to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in their August offensive. In a ...

in Northern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

in defence of the

Yezidi Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The ma ...

minority in

Sinjar Sinjar ( ar, سنجار, Sinjār; ku, شنگال, translit=Şingal, syr, ܫܝܓܪ, Shingar) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its p ...

. In March 2015 a 19-year-old German woman, Ivana Hoffmann, was killed whilst fighting the

(IS) during the

Eastern al-Hasakah offensive The Eastern al-Hasakah offensive was launched in the Al-Hasakah Governorate during the Syrian Civil War, by the Kurdish-majority People's Protection Units, Assyrian Christian militias, and allied Arab forces against the jihadist Islamic State of ...

, making her the third foreign fighter, as well as the first female foreign fighter, to die while fighting alongside the YPG. MLKP's female organisation, Komünist Kadın Örgütü, has also been involved in fighting. MLKP was heavily involved in forming the International Freedom Battalion.

TKP/ML TİKKO

The Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye İşci ve Köylü Kurtuluş Ordusu, abbreviated as TİKKO) is the armed wing of the

Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist The Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (''Türkiye Komünist Partisi/Marksist-Leninist'' in Turkish language, Turkish, abbreviated as TKP/ML) is a Marxism–Leninism–Maoism, Marxist–Leninist–Maoist insurgent organization in Turke ...

( tr, Türkiye Komünist Partisi/Marksist-Leninist, abbreviated as TKP/ML), a

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 ...

insurgent organisation in

. On 25 March 2016, the TKP/ML TİKKO headquarters in Serêkaniyê were targeted by a motorcycle bomb, causing slight injuries to two members and damage to the headquarters. Two suspects were detained by the Asayiş.

Türkiye Komünist Emek Partisi/Leninist

The Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist ( tr, Türkiye Komünist Emek Partisi/Leninist, abbreviated as TKEP/L) is an illegal Marxist-Leninist party in Turkey.

Sosyal İsyan

Social Insurrection was founded in 2013 in Turkey by a group of

green anarchists 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 anarchi ...

in Tuzluçayır.

Reconstrucción Comunista

Communist Reconstruction ( es, link=no, Reconstrucción Comunista, abbreviated as RC) is a Marxist-Leninist group from Spain. The group carries a variant of the

Flag of the Second Spanish Republic The flag of the Second Spanish Republic, known in Spanish as ', was the official flag of Spain between 1931 and 1939 and the flag of the Spanish Republican government in exile until 1977. Its present-day use in Spain is associated with the moder ...

. RC has strong ties to the MLKP and members fight as part of MLKP formations, even fighting in

. Two members of the group were arrested by police after their return to Spain and were accused of participating in an armed conflict outside of Spain without authorization from the state, as well as putting national interests at risk and joining groups fighting against ISIL that are considered terrorist organizations by international organizations. In January 2016, eight Spanish citizens and one Turkish citizen were arrested in Spain. The Spanish Interior Ministry said in a statement that "The detained, in collaboration with other individuals residing in various European countries, were providing the necessary infrastructure for displaced people to travel abroad and to finally integrate in the ranks of the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) or one of the armed wings of the organization" and that the majority of the arrested belong to the group 'Communist Reconstruction'.

Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity

The

Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity The Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity ( el, Επαναστατικός Σύνδεσμος Διεθνιστικής Αλληλεγγύης, abbreviated as ), also known as RUIS is an anarchist military unit, part of the Internat ...

( gr, Επαναστατικός Σύνδεσμος Διεθνιστικής Αλληλεγγύης, abbreviated as ΕΣΔΑ) is an armed fighter group from

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 ...

. They have fought in Syria since 2015. Their appearance has alarmed Greek security and intelligence officials alleging that ''"warriors will be trained in guerilla warfare and then will be able to apply what they have learned in their homeland".''

Bob Crow Brigade

The Bob Crow Brigade (abbreviated as BCB) is a group of fighters from the United Kingdom and Ireland named after Bob Crow, an English trade union leader and self-described "communist/socialist", who had died of a heart attack in March 2014. The group expressed solidarity with striking rail workers in the United Kingdom. Steve Hedley, senior assistant general secretary of the RMT, said: "Bob would have been honoured that young people from Britain would fight the forces of evil in his name. A great admirer of the international brigades that fought in Spain, Crow would of course have drawn the parallels with the new international brigades fighting clerical fascism and defending Yazhidi, Muslim and Christian workers from slavery and persecution." After Turkey and its allied rebel groups invaded parts of northern Syria and clashed with the Syrian Democratic Forces, Turkish officials stated that they will treat British and other foreign volunteers fighting alongside the YPG as terrorists. On 2 September, the Bob Crow Brigade relocated from the

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...

front to

Manbij Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Cen ...

and stated "When we came to defend the revolution we meant from all enemies, big or small". On 7 September 2016, the Bob Crow Brigade sent a message of solidarity to the women of Ireland fighting to repeal the

Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1983 was an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which inserted a subsection recognising the equal right to life of the pregnant woman and the unborn. Abortion had been subject to criminal penal ...

on the 33rd anniversary of its approval by referendum, as well as striking Irish bus workers the following day.

Henri Krasucki Brigade

The Henri Krasucki Brigade (french: link=no, Brigade Henri Krasucki) is a group of fighters from France. Inspired by their English-speaking counterparts of the Bob Crow Brigade, they named themselves after the French trade-unionist Henri Krasucki. The group expressed solidarity with the CGT union and the

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

workers on trial for the "shirt-ripping case" over an incident on 5 October 2015, which arose from a dispute over the aviation giant's plans to cut 2,900 jobs.

International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces

The

International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces The International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces (IRPGF) was a collective of anarchist fighters from around the world. Its formation was announced on 31 March 2017. According to the group, their goals were to defend the social revolutio ...

(abbreviated as IRPGF) was a militant, armed, self-organized, and horizontal collective of foreign anarchist fighters from around the world. The formation of the IRPGF was announced on 31 March 2017 in a video and text release to several revolutionary websites and media organizations. According to the declaration of the group, their goals are to defend the social revolution in Rojava and spread anarchism. They are a member organization and part of the management team of the International Freedom Battalion since April 2017, this was announced by the IFB on 17 May on their Facebook page. Their public formation and solidarity campaigns have garnered interest and support from around the world as well as backlash. On 24 July, the group established an

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

unit, the TQILA. On September 24, 2018, the group announced its dissolution in a final communique.

The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army

The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army (TQILA) was a queer anarchist armed group and subunit of the International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces formed on 24 July 2017 by LGBT members of the IRPGF. Its formation was announced fro ...

(abbreviated as TQILA) was a unit of the IFB announced on 24 July 2017, by members of the IRPGF from Raqqa City and disbanded on 24 September 2018. The group launched a statement explaining the purposes of its formation in which the response to persecution of LGBT persons by ISIL is highlighted as one of the main motivations of the group. They were part of the International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces and International Freedom Battalion.

Michael Israel Brigade

The Michael Israel Brigade formed in early 2018 at the time of the Battle of Afrin as an international volunteer unit. It adopted its name in homage to an American fighter of the International Freedom Battalion, Michael Israel, also known as Robin Agiri, killed by a Turkish bombardment northeast of

al-Bab Al-Bab ( ar, الْبَاب / ALA-LC: ''al-Bāb'') is a city, ''de jure'' administratively belonging to the Aleppo Governorate of the Syrian Arab Republic. As of December 2016, the city is under the control of pro-Turkish militias, as part of ...

on November 29, 2016, during

Operation Euphrates Shield Operation Euphrates Shield ( tr, Fırat Kalkanı Harekâtı) was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces in the Syrian Civil War which led to the Turkish occupation of northern Syria. Operations were carried out ...

. In its first press release, published on February 13, 2018, the brigade presented itself as a "group of

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

and

anti-fascists Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

, from all four corners of the world, ..united in

Rojava The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa, ...

by the principles of solidarity,

internationalism Internationalism may refer to: * Cosmopolitanism, the view that all human ethnic groups belong to a single community based on a shared morality as opposed to communitarianism, patriotism and nationalism * International Style, a major architectur ...

and anti-fascism". The group is made up of far-left foreign volunteers, mainly

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

and

Westerners The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. The brigade announced that it was going to the front in Afrin on February 19, 2018. However, the Syrian Democratic Forces were severely affected by the artillery and air strikes of the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...

. The Michael Israel Brigade announced its withdrawal from Afrin on March 22, 2018, it recognized the death of at least one of its fighters - a Turkish volunteer named Şevger Ara Makhno, killed on March 8 by an airstrike in the village of Berbêné - as well as several wounded. Some fighters were then sent to eastern Syria to take part in the offensive.

Structure

** Women's Freedom Forces ** Revolutionary Communard Party ** MLSPB-DC *** Betül Altindal Taburu *** Serpil Polat Taburu ** Social Insurrection ** Devrimci Cephe ** Devrimci Karargâh ** Revolution Party of Turkey ** Emek ve Özgürlük Cephesi ** Halkın Devrimci Güçleri ** PDKÖ ** Aziz GÜLER Özgürlük Gücü Milis Örgütü ** Kader Ortakaya Timi ** Kızılbaş Timi ** Mahir Arpaçay Devrimci Savaş Okulu ** Necdet Adalı Müfrezesi ** Spartaküs Timi ** Şehit Bedreddin Taburu * MLKP ** MLKP/KKÖ * TKP/ML TİKKO * MKP * Reconstrucción Comunista * TKEP/L * RUIS * Bob Crow Brigade * Henri Krasucki Brigade * IRPGF ** TQILA * Tekoşîna Anarşîst ''(Anarchist Struggle)''

Gallery

Fighters of the International Freedom Battalion.jpg, Members of International Freedom Battalion. IFB members at Destan Temmuz burial in Kobanê.jpg, IFB members in the ceremony and burial of Ayşe Deniz Karacagil of MLKP in Kobanê. Ni Una Menos from Raqqa.png, Women of IFB in solidarity with

Ni una menos Ni una menos (; Spanish for "Not one omanless") is a Latin American fourth-wave grassroots feminist movement, which started in Argentina and has spread across several Latin American countries, that campaigns against gender-based violence. In it ...

. IFB group photo.jpg, Members of International Freedom Battalion. Palestine Solidarity - IFB.jpg, IFB members in ''solidarity'' with

PFLP The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, translit=al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn, PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary so ...

. IFB Antifa Manchester.png, Some members of the Bob Crow Brigade.

Notable fatalities

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:International Freedom Battalion Anarchism in Syria Socialism in Syria People's Protection Units Military units and formations established in 2015