The YPG International or People's Protection Units International (
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
: ''YPG Enternasyonel'') is a military unit made up of foreign fighters in the
Syrian Democratic Forces
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder
, caption = Flag
, active = 10 October 2015 – present
, ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
. It was created in December 2016 as the Antifascist International Tabûr (AIT) of the
People's Protection 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 Democra ...
(YPG). The unit is part of the
Syrian Democratic Forces
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder
, caption = Flag
, active = 10 October 2015 – present
, ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
in the
Syrian Civil War.
Establishment and campaigns
The brigade was founded in December 2016, and elected as its first commander the Italian-Moroccan Karim Marcello Franceschi. The battalion emerged from a proposal for foreign fighters to serve in an English-speaking unit, as opposed to the
International Freedom Battalion
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 armed group con ...
, where the predominant language is Turkish.
The unit is composed mostly of people from
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, including
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 so ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. The unit's initial statement mentioned their principles and causes, highlighting the common unity between communists and anarchists as an
anti-fascist
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 ...
front against the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
. The statement was released in several languages, including
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, Italian, Spanish and
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
.
The unit took part in the 2016
Manbij offensive
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict= Manbij offensive (2016)
, width = 400px
, partof= the Rojava–Islamist conflict and the American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War
, image=Manbijof.png
, image_size=350px
, caption= Map showing SD ...
, the
Raqqa campaign (2016-2017), the
Deir ez-Zor campaign (2017-19), and the resistance to the 2018
Turkish invasion of Afrin
Operation Olive Branch ( tr, Zeytin Dalı Harekâtı) was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces and Syrian National Army (SNA) in the majority-Kurdish Afrin District of northwest Syria, against the People's Prot ...
and the
2019 Turkish offensive into northeastern Syria.
See also
*
International Freedom Battalion
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 armed group con ...
*
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 ...
*
Foreign fighters in the Syrian and Iraqi Civil Wars
Foreign fighters have fought on all four sides of the Syrian Civil War, as well both sides of the War in Iraq. In addition to Sunni foreign fighters, Shia fighters from several countries have joined pro-government militias in Syria, leftist ...
*
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- ...
References
{{reflist
Further reading
* Gifford, Macer. ''Fighting Evil: The Ordinary Man who went to War Against ISIS.'' Seven Dials (2020)''.''
* Stoddard, Warren II. ''A Good Place on the Banks of the Euphrates: Stories from the War Against ISIS.'' Pine Needle Floor (2021).
Internationalism
Military units and factions of the Syrian civil war
People's Protection Units
2016 establishments in Syria