Syrian Democratic ForcesAlliance in the Syrian civil warThe Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was a Kurdish-led coalition of left-wing ethnic militias and rebel groups, which served as the official military wing of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES; also unofficially known as Rojava) from 2015 to 2026. Founded on 10 October 2015, the stated mission of the SDF was to create a secular, democratic, and federalized Syria.
People's Defense UnitsMainly-Kurdish militia in SyriaMilitary unitBefore the end of 2024, territory under YPG-led SDF-controlled (green), and Turkish occupation of northern Syria (red)The People's Defense Units, Kurdish abbreviation YPG, also called People's Protection Units, was a libertarian socialistKurdish militant group in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Syrian civil war2011–2024 armed conflict in SyriaBelligerentsFull list of factionsCasualties and lossesTotal deaths656,493+Civilian deaths219,223–306,887+ Displaced people6.7 million internally6.6 million externally (refugees) (March 2021)See Casualties of the Syrian civil war for detailsThe Syrian civil war was an armed conflict that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring.
United States ArmyLand service branch of the U.S. militaryMilitary unitThe United States Army (U.S. Army) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is designated as the army of the United States in the United States Constitution. As a part of the United States Department of Defense, it is one of the six armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States.
People's Defence ForcesThe People's Defence Forces (Kurdish: Hêzên Parastina Gel, HPG) was the military wing of the group Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). During the 7th Congress of the PKK in January 2000, the HPG replaced the former military wing of the PKK, the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (Artêşa Rizgariya Gelê Kurdistan, ARGK).
Kurdistan Workers' PartyKurdish militant political organizationThe Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is a Kurdishmilitant political organization and armed guerrilla group primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq and north-eastern Syria. It was founded in Ziyaret, Lice, on 27 November 1978 and was involved in asymmetric warfare in the Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency (with several ceasefires between 1993 and 2013–2015).
KurdsKurds (Kurdish: کورد, romanized: Kurd, Kurdish: [kuɾd̪]), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syria.
KobaniKobanî, also known as Kobane or Ayn al-Arab, is a Kurdish-majority city in the Ayn al-Arab District in northern Syria, lying immediately south of the Syria–Turkey border.
Abdullah ÖcalanAbdullah Öcalan ( OH-jə-lahn; Turkish: [œdʒaɫan]; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He helped found the PKK in 1978, and led it into the Kurdish–Turkish conflict in 1984.
Civil engineerA civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructure that may have been neglected.
University of AleppoUniversity of Aleppo (Arabic: جَامِعَة حَلَب, romanized: Jāmiʿat Ḥalab, also called Aleppo University) is a public university located in Aleppo, Syria. It is the second largest university in Syria after the Damascus University. During 2005–06, the university had over 61,000 undergraduate students, over 1,500 post graduate students and approximately 2,400 faculty members. The university has 25 faculties and 10 intermediate colleges.
Government of the Kurdistan RegionThe Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is the official executive body of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. The cabinet is selected by the majority party or list who also select the prime minister of the Iraqi Kurdishpolity. The president is directly elected by the electorate of the region and is the head of the cabinet and chief of state who delegates executive powers to the cabinet.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.