The United Freedom Forces (, 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 revolu ...

organizations from

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, most notably the Revolutionary Communard Party (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 Syrian Kurdistan, Western Kurdistan or Rojava. During the Syrian civil war that began ...

of the Syrian Civil War. Inspired by the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

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

Rojava Rojava may refer to: * Syrian Kurdistan, also known as Rojava, the geographical region where Kurds historically settled within present-day Syria * Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Democratic Autonomous Administ ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. The predominant

Hoxhaist Hoxhaism ( , ) is a variant of Marxism–Leninism developed in the late 1970s as a result of a schism in the anti-revisionist movement, namely between the Chinese Communist Party and the Party of Labour of Albania. The ideological dispute bet ...

Marxist–Leninist Communist Party and the

Maoist Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

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

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, in June 2015, they altogether formed the

International Freedom Battalion The International Freedom Battalion (; ; ), commonly abbreviated as IFB or EÖT, is a Revolutionary socialism, revolutionary socialist armed group consisting of Left-wing politics, leftist Foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war, foreign fighte ...

Member groups

Revolutionary Communard Party

The Revolutionary Communard Party (, abbreviated as DKP) is a

group from Turkey. It was founded in February 2016 as a merger of the Proletarian Revolutionary Liberation Organisation (, abbreviated as PDKÖ) and the Revolution Party of Turkey (, abbreviated as TDP). Devrimci Karargâh 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 () is a Far-left politics, far-left self-declared alliance of ten mostly Kurdish Left-wing politics, leftist, Revolutionary socialism, revolutionary socialist, and Communism, communist organization ...

alliance in Turkey with the PKK and nine other groups.

MLSPB-DC

The Marxist–Leninist Armed Propaganda Corps-Revolutionary Front (, 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 (, abbreviated as Sİ) is a

green anarchist The ''Green Anarchist'', established in 1984 in the UK, was a magazine advocating green anarchism. Early years Founded after the 1984 Stop the City protests, the magazine was launched in the summer of that year by an editorial collective c ...

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

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. Members of the group cite the influence of Alfredo M. Bonanno,

Nestor Makhno Nestor Ivanovych Makhno (, ; 7 November 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ( , ), was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and the commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine during the Ukrainian War o ...

, and

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, ; ; 1809 – 19 January 1865) was a French anarchist, socialist, philosopher, and economist who founded mutualist philosophy and is considered by many to be the "father of anarchism". He was the first person to ca ...

Units

*Women's Freedom Forces (Kadın Özgürlük Gücü) *Devrimci Cephe ** Devrimci Karargâh *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 ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

: Rasih Kurtuluş) was killed by a landmine explosion whilst fighting against

ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...

. 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 Suruç (; ; ''Sruḡ'') is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 744 km2, and its population is 100,961 (2022). It is on a plain near the Syria–Turkey border, Syrian border southwest ...

district governorate, which rejected their application due to an invisible order by the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

, and the

Constitutional Court of Turkey The Constitutional Court of Turkey ( Turkish: ''Anayasa Mahkemesi'', 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 law ...

, which also rejected their requests, before turning to the

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

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

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, publisher =

Carter Center The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University after his defeat in the 1980 United States presidential ele ...

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 Rebel alliances