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118-658: Ongoing Goals Methods [REDACTED] Rojava [REDACTED] Kurdistan Workers' Party [REDACTED] TKP/ML [REDACTED] International Freedom Battalion [REDACTED] [REDACTED] YPG-Allied FSA [REDACTED] Euphrates Volcano / Syrian Democratic Forces [REDACTED] Syria [REDACTED]   Turkey [REDACTED] Syria [REDACTED] Kurdistan Workers' Party [REDACTED] 14,691 killed [REDACTED] 140 killed 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 The Rojava conflict , also known as

236-507: A brand gaining global recognition" by 2019. The territory around Jazira province of northeastern Syria is called Gozarto ( Classical Syriac : ܓܙܪܬܐ , romanized:  Gozarto ), part of the historical Assyrian homeland , by Syriac-Assyrians. The area has also been nicknamed Federal Northern Syria , and the Democratic Confederalist Autonomous Areas of Northern Syria . The first name of

354-672: A charity, rights are achieved by force." He continued his activism until he was ambushed by the Syrian regime when he was returning home from his work at the Islamic Studies Center in Damascus, on May 10, 2005. His torture was allegedly ordered by Maher al-Assad , who was worried by Khaznawi's increasing influence among Kurds. Khaznawi died after 20 days of torture, and his body was dumped in Deir ez-Zor on June 1. On June 1,

472-908: A coalition of Syria's 12 Kurdish parties, boycotted a Syrian opposition summit in Antalya , Turkey on 31 May 2011, stating that "any such meeting held in Turkey can only be a detriment to the Kurds in Syria, because Turkey is against the aspirations of the Kurds". During the August summit in Istanbul , which led to the creation of the Syrian National Council , only two of the parties in the National Movement of Kurdish Parties in Syria,

590-476: A former diplomat like me, I found it confusing: I kept looking for a hierarchy, the singular leader, or signs of a government line, when, in fact, there was none; there were just groups. There was none of that stifling obedience to the party, or the obsequious deference to the "big man"—a form of government all too evident just across the borders, in Turkey to the north, and the Kurdish regional government of Iraq to

708-784: A large strain on the region's economy . The autonomous region is ruled by a coalition pursuing a model of economy that blends co-operative and market enterprise, through a system of local councils in minority, cultural, and religious representation. Independent organizations providing healthcare in the region include the Kurdish Red Crescent , the Syrian American Medical Society , the Free Burma Rangers , and Doctors Without Borders . Since 2016, Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces have occupied parts of northern Syria through

826-419: A man who claimed to be a government official approached Khaznawi's sons on the street and told them "you will hear happy news of your father." After a few days, state security agents took Khaznawi's sons to see Khaznawi. His dead body was nearly unrecognisable, his thick beard had been ripped off, his teeth were broken, and his skin was badly burnt by acid. He was also torn into 3 pieces. The Syrian government told

944-609: A mandatory third language. There are ongoing disagreements and negotiations over curriculums with the Syrian central government, which generally still pays the teachers in public schools. In August 2016, the Ourhi Centre was founded by the Assyrian community in the city of Qamishli, to educate teachers in order to make Syriac-Aramaic an additional language in public schools in Jazira Region, which then started in

1062-511: A model for a federalized Syria as a whole, rather than outright independence. The region's administration has also been accused by partisan and non-partisan sources of authoritarianism , media censorship , forced disappearances , support of the Syrian government , Kurdification , and displacement. At the same time, the AANES has also been described by partisan and non-partisan sources as

1180-501: A series of military operations against the SDF. AANES and its SDF have stated they will defend all regions of autonomous administration from any aggression. Parts of northern Syria are known as Western Kurdistan ( Kurdish : Rojavayê Kurdistanê ) or simply Rojava ( / ˌ r oʊ ʒ ə ˈ v ɑː / ROH -zhə- VAH ; Kurdish: [roʒɑˈvɑ] "the West") among Kurds, one of

1298-618: Is under joint YPG-Syrian Army control. On 6 September 2018, during a meeting of the Syrian Democratic Council in Ayn Issa , a new name for the region was adopted, the "Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria", encompassing the Euphrates, Afrin, and Jazira regions as well as the local civil councils in the regions of Raqqa, Manbij, Tabqa, and Deir ez-Zor. During the meeting, a 70-member "General Council for

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1416-687: Is working on a major extension of the fibre optic cable network in southern Jazira Region. After the establishment of the de facto autonomous region, the Center of Art and Democratic Culture, located in Jazira Region, has become a venue for aspiring artists who showcase their work. Among major cultural events in the region is the annual Festival of Theater in March/April as well as the Rojava Short Story Festival in June, both in

1534-508: The Al-Anfal campaign in the 1980s. Tensions quickly escalated into open protests, with Kurds raising their flag and taking to the streets to demand cultural and political rights. Security forces fired into the crowd, killing six Kurds, including three children. Protesters went on to burn down the Ba'ath Party's local office. At least 30 and as many as 100 Kurds were killed by the government before

1652-586: The Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party and the Assyrian Democratic Party attempted to work within the system, hoping to bring about changes through soft pressure. In general, parties that openly represented certain ethnic and religious minorities were not allowed to participate in elections, but their politicians were occasionally allowed to run as Independents. Some Kurdish politicians won seats during

1770-663: The Kurdish Union Party and the Kurdish Freedom Party , attended the summit. Anti-government protests had been ongoing in the Kurdish-inhabited areas of Syria since March 2011, as part of the wider Syrian uprising , but clashes started after the opposition Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Kurdish National Council (KNC) signed a seven-point agreement on 11 June 2012 in Erbil under

1888-548: 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-dominated coalition led by the Democratic Union Party as well as some other Kurdish , Arab , Syriac-Assyrian , and Turkmen groups have sought to establish a new constitution for

2006-782: The Siege of Kobanî , and in the YPG's Tell Abyad offensive of summer of 2015, the regions of Jazira and Kobanî were connected. After the YPG victory over ISIL in Kobanî in March 2015, an alliance between YPG and the United States was formed, which greatly worried Turkey, because Turkey stated the YPG was a clone of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which Turkey (and the U.S. and the E.U.) designate as terrorists . In December 2015,

2124-491: The Syrian Democratic Council has adopted a new name for the region, naming it the "Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria" (NES) ( Kurdish : Rêveberiya Xweser a Bakur û Rojhilatê Sûriyeyê ; Arabic : الإدارة الذاتية لشمال وشرق سوريا ; Classical Syriac : ܡܕܰܒܪܳܢܘܬ݂ܳܐ ܝܳܬ݂ܰܝܬܳܐ ܠܓܰܪܒܝܳܐ ܘܡܰܕܢܚܳܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܰܐ , romanized:  Mdabronuṯo Yoṯayto l-Garbyo w-Madnḥyo d-Suriya ; Turkish : Kuzey ve Doğu Suriye Özerk Yönetimi ) also sometimes translated into English as

2242-730: The Syrian Democratic Council was created. On 17 March 2016, at a TEV-DEM-organized conference in Rmelan the establishment the Democratic Federation of Rojava – Northern Syria was declared in the areas they controlled in Northern Syria. The declaration was quickly denounced by both the Syrian government and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces . In March 2016, Hediya Yousef and Mansur Selum were elected co-chairpersons for

2360-518: The Syrian National Council in hopes of creating a democratic, pluralistic alternative to the Assad government. But internal fighting and disagreement over politics and inclusion plagued the group from its beginnings. In the fall of 2011 the popular uprising escalated to an armed conflict. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) began to coalesce and armed insurrection spread, largely across central and southern Syria. The National Movement of Kurdish Parties in Syria,

2478-539: The Syrian elections in 1990 . The government also recruited Kurdish officials, in particular as mayors, to ease ethnic relations. Regardless, northern Syrian ethnic groups remained deliberately underrepresented in the bureaucracy, and many Kurdish majority areas were run by Arab officials from other parts of the country. Security and intelligence agencies worked hard to suppress dissidents, and most Kurdish parties remained underground movements. The government monitored, though generally allowed this "sub-state activity" because

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2596-488: The al-Nusra Front and Jabhat Ghuraba al-Sham . It also eclipsed rival Kurdish militias, and absorbed some government loyalist groups. According to researcher Charles R. Lister, the government's withdrawal and concurrent rise of the PYD "raised many eyebrows", as the relationship between the two entities was "highly contentious" at the time. The PYD was known to oppose certain government policies, but had also strongly criticised

2714-505: The de facto autonomous region, while military wings and allied militias have fought to maintain control of the region. This led to the establishment of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) in 2016. Supporters of the AANES state that the events constitute a social revolution with a prominent role played by women both on the battlefield and within the newly formed political system, as well as

2832-458: The libertarian socialist politics of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan . The Rojava economy is a blend of private companies, the autonomous administration and worker cooperatives . Since the revolution, efforts have been made to transition the economy to one of self-sufficiency based on worker and producer cooperatives. This transition faces the major obstacles of ongoing conflict and an embargo from all neighboring countries: Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and

2950-585: The "Self-Administration of North and East Syria", encompassing the Euphrates, Afrin, and Jazira regions as well as the local civil councils in the regions of Raqqa, Manbij, Tabqa, and Deir ez-Zor. Northern Syria is part of the Fertile Crescent , and includes archaeological sites dating to the Neolithic, such as Tell Halaf . In antiquity, the area was part of the Mitanni kingdom, its centre being

3068-607: The 18th century, five Kurdish tribes existed in northeastern Syria. The demographics of this area underwent a huge shift in the early part of the 20th century. Some Circassian, Kurdish and Chechen tribes cooperated with the Ottoman ( Turkish ) authorities in the massacres of Armenian and Assyrian Christians in Upper Mesopotamia , between 1914 and 1920, with further attacks on unarmed fleeing civilians conducted by local Arab militias. Many Assyrians fled to Syria during

3186-428: The 1920s was estimated at 20,000 people, out of 100,000 inhabitants, with the remainder of the population being Christians (Syriac, Armenian, Assyrian) and Arabs. Following Syria's independence , policies of Arab nationalism and attempts at forced Arabization became widespread in the country's north, to a large part directed against the Kurdish population. The region received little investment or development from

3304-541: The 1950s. The threatening of the closure of schools not complying with this resulted in protests erupting in Qamishli. A deal was later reached in September 2018 between the region's authorities and the local Syriac Orthodox archbishopric, where the two first grades in these schools would learn the region's Syriac curriculum and grades three to six would continue to learn the Damascus approved curriculum. While there

3422-621: The 2014 Constitution of North and East Syria guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press . As a result, a diverse media landscape has developed in the region, in each of the Kurdish , Arabic , Syriac-Aramaic and Turkish languages of the land, as well as in English, and media outlets frequently use more than one language. Among the most prominent media in the region are Hawar News Agency and ARA News agencies and websites as well as TV outlets Rojava Kurdistan TV, Ronahî TV , and

3540-584: The 2016/17 academic year. According to the region's Education Committee, in 2016/2017 "three curriculums have replaced the old one, to include teaching in three languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac." In August 2017 Galenos Yousef Issa of the Ourhi Centre announced that the Syriac curriculum would be expanded to grade 6, which earlier had been limited to grade 3, with teachers being assigned to Syriac schools in Al-Hasakah , Al-Qahtaniyah and Al-Malikiyah . At

3658-431: The Assad government and commemorate Kurdish Martyrs Day . Protests grew over the months of March and April 2011. The Assad government attempted to appease Kurds by promising to grant citizenship to thousands of Kurds, who until that time had been stripped of any legal status. By the summer, protests had only intensified, as did violent crackdowns by the Syrian government. In August, a coalition of opposition groups formed

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3776-767: The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria" was formed. In December 2015, during a meeting of the region's representatives in Al-Malikiyah , the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) was established to serve as the political representative of the Syrian Democratic Forces . The co-leaders selected to lead the SDC at its founding were prominent human rights activist Haytham Manna and TEV-DEM Executive Board member Îlham Ehmed. The SDC appoints an Executive Council which deal with

3894-731: The Iranian Parthians and Sasanians , then by the Byzantines and successive Arab Islamic caliphates. In course of these regimes, different groups settled in northern Syria, often contributing to population shifts. Arabic tribes have been present in the area for millennia. Under the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire (312–63 BC), different tribal groups and mercenaries were settled in northern Syria as military colonists; these included Arabs and possibly Kurds. Jan Retso argued that Abai, an Arab settlement where

4012-547: The KCK, as differences emerged between the PKK and PYD leadership. The PYD was determined to maintain the regional autonomy and hoped for a continued alliance with the United States. In contrast, the PKK central command was now willing to restart negotiations with Turkey, distrusted the United States, and emphasized the international success of its leftist ideology over the survival of Rojava as administrative entity. The political system of

4130-530: The KNC, who have different ideological aspirations than the TEV-DEM coalition. On 28 December 2016, after a meeting of the 151-member Syrian Democratic Council in Rmelan , a new constitution was resolved; despite objections by 12 Kurdish parties, the region was renamed the "Democratic Federation of Northern Syria", removing the name "Rojava". Since 2012, when the first YPG pockets appeared, Turkey had been alarmed by

4248-695: The Khabur river valley in modern-day Jazira Region. It was then part of Assyria , with the last surviving Assyrian imperial records, from between 604 BC and 599 BC, were found in and around the Assyrian city of Dūr-Katlimmu . Later it was ruled by different dynasties and empires – the Achaemenids of Iran , the Hellenistic empires who succeeded Alexander the Great , the Artaxiads of Armenia , Rome ,

4366-469: The Khaznawi family that independent criminals, mostly from Deir ez-Zor, had confessed to killing Mashouq al-Khaznawi, although his family suspects the Syrian government. One of Khaznawi's sons, Morshed al-Khaznawi, stated that "the Syrian authorities fabricated an ugly play and gave us the corpse, in the end, the Syrian authorities have complete and total responsibility for what happened and for assassinating

4484-597: The Kurdish Supreme Committee established a joint leadership council to administer the towns. Soon YPG also gained control of the cities of Al-Malikiyah , Ras al-Ayn , al-Darbasiyah , and al-Muabbada and parts of Hasakah and Qamishli . Doing so, the YPG and its female wing, the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), mostly battled factions of the Free Syrian Army , and Islamist militias like

4602-588: The Levant (ISIL) to gain control of almost all land in Syria east of the Euphrates river. They see their model of grassroots democracy as one that can be implemented throughout Syria in the future. After declaring autonomy, grassroots organizers, politicians and other community members have radically changed the social and political make-up of the area. The extreme laws restricting independent political organizing, women's freedom, religious and cultural expression and

4720-481: The PKK maintained a clandestine presence in the region. In 2002, the PKK and allied groups organized the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) to implement Öcalan's ideas in various Middle Eastern countries. A KCK branch was also set up in Syria, led by Sofi Nureddin and known as "KCK-Rojava". In an attempt to outwardly distance the Syrian branch from the PKK, the Democratic Union Party (PYD)

4838-435: The PKK remained much less popular among Kurds in al-Hasakah Governorate , where other Kurdish parties maintained more influence. Many Syrian Kurds developed a long-lasting sympathy for the PKK, and a large number, possibly more than 10,000, joined its insurgency in Turkey. A rapprochement between Syria and Turkey brought an end to this phase in 1998, when Öcalan and the PKK were formally expelled from northern Syria. Regardless,

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4956-432: The PKK's shift toward anarchism , but also includes various "tribal, ethno-sectarian, capitalist and patriarchal structures." The region has a "co-governance" policy in which each position at each level of government in the region includes a "female equivalent of equal authority" to a male. Similarly, there are aspirations for equal political representation of all ethno-religious components – Arabs, Kurds and Assyrians being

5074-537: The PYD announced that Syrian security forces had withdrawn from the small Kurdish city of 16,000 of Al-Ma'bada ( Kurdish : Girkê Legê ), between Al-Malikiyah and the Turkish borders. The YPG forces then took control of all government institutions. On 1 August 2012, state security forces on the periphery of the country were pulled into the intensifying battle taking place in Aleppo . During this large withdrawal from

5192-514: The PYD announced that it had written a constitution for an "autonomous Syrian Kurdish region", and planned to hold referendum to approve the constitution in October 2013. Qamishli served as first de facto capital of the PYD-led governing body, which was official called the "Interim Transitional Administration". The announcement was widely denounced by both moderate as well as Islamist factions of

5310-587: The Rodî û Perwîn Library in Kobani (May 2016). For Assyrian private confessional schools there had at first been no changes. However, in August 2018 it was reported that the region's authorities was trying to implement its own Syriac curriculum in private Christian schools that have been continuing to use an Arabic curriculum with limited Syriac classes approved by the Assad regime and originally developed by Syrian Education Ministry in cooperation with Christian clergy in

5428-406: The SDF as reasons. The protests resulted in deaths and injuries. It has been stated that the new political structures created in the region have been based on top-down structures, which have placed obstacles for the return of refugees, created dissent as well as a lack of trust between the SDF and the local population. Qamishli initially served as the de facto capital of the administration, but

5546-565: The SDF. On 9 October, the Turkish Air Force launched airstrikes on border towns. On 6 October President of the United States Donald Trump had ordered United States troops to withdraw from northeastern Syria where they had been providing support to the SDF. Journalists called the withdrawal "a serious betrayal to the Kurds" and "a catastrophic blow to US credibility as an ally and Washington's standing on

5664-574: The Seleucid king Antiochus VI Dionysus was raised, was located in northern Syria. By the 3rd century, the Arab tribe of the Fahmids lived in northern Syria. By the 9th century, northern Syria was inhabited by a mixed population of Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds, Turkic groups, and others. Kurdish tribes in the area often operated as soldiers for hire, and were still placed in specific military settlements in

5782-494: The Syrian government arbitrarily deprived ethnic Kurdish citizens of their citizenship. The largest such instance was a consequence of a census in 1962, which was conducted for exactly this purpose. 120,000 ethnic Kurdish citizens saw their citizenship arbitrarily taken away and became stateless . This status was passed to the children of a "stateless" Kurdish father. In 2010, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimated

5900-452: The Syrian government. Days later, however, protests again took place, this time in response to the police beating of a shopkeeper. Smaller protests continued, and on 7 March 2011, thirteen political prisoners went on hunger strike, and momentum began to grow against the Assad government. Three days later dozens of Syrian Kurds went on hunger strike in solidarity. On 12 March, major protests took place in Qamishli and Al-Hasakah to both protest

6018-405: The Syrian opposition. Following a deadly PYD repression of opposition demonstrations in Amuda, the Kurdish National Council withdrew from the Kurdish Supreme Committee. Unopposed, the PYD's political coalition, Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), controlled the Kurdish Supreme Committee until the latter was dissolved by the cantonal Democratic Autonomous Administration. On 19 July 2013,

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6136-429: The Syrian opposition. In January 2014, three areas declared their autonomy as cantons (now Afrin Region, Jazira Region and Euphrates Region) and an interim constitution (also known as social contract ) was approved. The Syrian opposition and the Kurdish parties belonging to the KNC condemned this move, regarding the canton system as illegal, authoritarian, and supportive of the Syrian government. The PYD countered that

6254-455: The Turkish border. The forces at the time also intended to capture Qamishli , the largest Syrian city with a Kurdish majority. On the same day, the Syrian government attacked a patrol of Kurdish YPG members and wounded one fighter. The next day it was reported that Kurdish forces were still fighting for Al-Malikiyah, where one young Kurdish activist was killed after government security forces opened fire on protesters. The YPG also took control over

6372-441: The Turkish pro-government newspaper Daily Sabah, the YPG's parent organisation, the PYD, provided the PKK with militants, explosives, arms and ammunition. In August 2016, Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield to prevent the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from linking Afrin Canton (now Afrin Region) with the rest of Rojava and to capture Manbij from the SDF. Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces prevented

6490-417: The administration of the region stated that "none of our projects are financed by the regime". Mashouq al-Khaznawi He was the son of Izzeddin Al-Khaznawi, and belonged to the Khaznawi family, a very influential Kurdish clerical family which founded the Khaznawi tariqa , a branch of the Naqshbandi tariqa. The family originates from Khazna, a village in Al-Hasakah Governorate . Mashouq al-Khaznawi

6608-522: The area's governing body later relocated to Ayn Issa . Article 8 of the 2014 constitution stipulates that "All Cantons in the autonomous regions are founded on the principle of local self-government. Cantons may freely elect their representatives and representative bodies, and may pursue their rights insofar as it does not contravene the articles of the Charter." The cantons were later reorganized into regions with subordinate cantons/provinces, areas, districts and communes. The first communal elections in

6726-426: The areas of Afrin , Jazira , Euphrates , Raqqa , Tabqa , Manbij , and Deir Ez-Zor . The region gained its de facto autonomy in 2012 in the context of the ongoing Rojava conflict and the wider Syrian civil war , in which its official military force, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has taken part. While entertaining some foreign relations , the region is neither officially recognized as autonomous by

6844-497: The attack "no surprise" because Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had for months warned that the presence of the YPG on the Turkish-Syrian border despite the Northern Syria Buffer Zone was unacceptable. An unintended consequence of the attack was that it raised the worldwide popularity and legitimacy of the northeastern Syrian administration, and several PYD and YPG representatives became internationally known to an unprecedented degree. However, these events caused tensions within

6962-440: The auspice of Iraqi Kurdistan president Massoud Barzani . This agreement, however, failed to be implemented and so a new cooperation agreement between the two sides was signed on 12 July which saw the creation of the Kurdish Supreme Committee as a governing body of all Kurdish-controlled territories in Syria. The People's Protection Units (YPG) entered the conflict by capturing the city of Kobanî on 19 July 2012, followed by

7080-481: The ban on teaching Kurdish, are still on the books. Due to the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011, the government is no longer in a position to enforce these laws. In 2004, riots broke out against the government in the northeastern city of Qamishli . During a soccer match between a local Kurdish team and a visiting Arab team from Deir ez-Zor , some Arab fans brandished portraits of Saddam Hussein , who killed tens of thousands of Kurds in Southern Kurdistan during

7198-457: The bimonthly magazine Nudem . A landscape of local newspapers and radio stations has developed. However, media agencies often face economic pressure, as was demonstrated by the closure of news website Welati in May 2016. In addition, the autonomous regions have imposed some limits on press freedom, for example forcing the press to get work permits. These can be cancelled, thereby curtailing the ability of certain press agencies to operate. However,

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7316-440: The capture of Amuda and Efrîn on 20 July. The cities fell without any major clashes, as Syrian security forces withdrew without any significant resistance. The Syrian Army pulled out to fight elsewhere. The KNC and PYD then formed a joint leadership council to run the captured cities. The YPG forces continued with their advancement and on 21 July captured Al-Malikiyah ( Kurdish : Dêrika Hemko ), which lies 10 kilometers from

7434-728: The central government and laws discriminated against Kurds owning property, driving cars, working in certain professions and forming political parties. Property was routinely confiscated by government loansharks. After the Ba'ath Party seized power in the 1963 Syrian coup d'état , non-Arab languages were forbidden at Syrian public schools. This compromised the education of students belonging to minorities like Kurds, Turkmen, and Assyrians. Some groups like Armenians, Circassians, and Assyrians were able to compensate by establishing private schools, but Kurdish private schools were also banned. Northern Syrian hospitals lacked equipment for advanced treatment and instead patients had to be transferred outside

7552-402: The city allowed the Kurdish flag to be raised. After months of de facto rule, the PYD officially announced its regional autonomy on 9 January 2014. Elections were held, popular assemblies established and the Constitution of Rojava was approved. Since then, residents organized local assemblies, reopened schools, established community centers, and helped push back the Islamic State of Iraq and

7670-490: The city of Qamishli, and the Afrin Short Film Festival in April. The Jazira Region is a major wheat and cotton producer and has a considerable oil industry. The Euphrates Region suffered most destruction of the three regions and has huge challenges in reconstruction, and has recently seen some greenhouse agriculture construction. The Afrin Region has had a traditional specialization on olive oil including Aleppo soap made from it, and had drawn much industrial production from

7788-402: The constitution was open to review and amendment, and that the KNC had been consulted on its drafting beforehand. From September 2014 to spring 2015, the YPG forces in Kobanî Canton, supported by some Free Syrian Army militias and leftist international and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) volunteers, fought and finally repelled an assault by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during

7906-493: The discriminatory policies carried out by the Assad government have been superseded. In their place, a Constitution of Rojava guaranteeing the cultural, religious and political freedom of all people has been established. The constitution also explicitly states the equal rights and freedom of women and also "mandates public institutions to work towards the elimination of gender discrimination". The political and social changes taking place in Rojava have in large part been inspired by

8024-538: The economy, agriculture, natural resources, and foreign affairs. General elections were planned for 2014 and 2018, but this was postponed due to fighting. Under the rule of the Ba'ath Party , school education consisted of only Arabic language public schools, supplemented by Assyrian private confessional schools. In 2015, the region's administration introduced primary education in the native language (either Kurdish or Arabic) and mandatory bilingual education (Kurdish and Arabic) for public schools, with English as

8142-545: The establishment of a federal system of government as the Democratic Federation of Rojava – Northern Syria ( Kurdish : Federaliya Demokratîk a Rojava – Bakurê Sûriyê ; Arabic : الفدرالية الديمقراطية لروج آفا – شمال سوريا , romanized :  al-Fidirāliyya al-Dīmuqrāṭiyya li-Rūj ʾĀvā – Šamāl Suriyā ; Classical Syriac : ܦܕܪܐܠܝܘܬ݂ܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܐܛܝܬܐ ܠܓܙܪܬܐ ܒܓܪܒܝܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ , romanized:  Federaloyotho Demoqraṭoyto l'Gozarto b'Garbyo d'Suriya ; sometimes abbreviated as NSR). The updated December 2016 constitution of

8260-432: The executive committee to organise a constitution for the region, to replace the 2014 constitution. Yousef said the decision to set up a federal government was in large part driven by the expansion of territories captured from Islamic State: "Now, after the liberation of many areas, it requires us to go to a wider and more comprehensive system that can embrace all the developments in the area, that will also give rights to all

8378-410: The existence of the Kurds and in 1962, 120,000 Syrian Kurds were stripped of their citizenship, leaving them stateless . The Kurdish language and culture have also been suppressed. The government attempted to resolve these issues in 2011 by granting all Kurds citizenship, but only an estimated 6,000 out of 150,000 stateless Kurds have been given nationality and most discriminatory regulations, including

8496-596: The extent of these restrictions differed greatly from area to area. By 2016, Kobani Canton was the least restrictive, followed by Jazira Canton which closely monitored and occasionally regulated press activity. Afrin Canton was the most restrictive, and many local reporters operated anonymously. Political extremism in the context of the Syrian Civil War can put media outlets under pressure; for example in April 2016

8614-601: The four parts of Greater Kurdistan . The name "Rojava" was thus associated with a Kurdish identity of the administration. As the region expanded and increasingly included areas dominated by non-Kurdish groups, mostly Arabs, "Rojava" was used less and less by the administration in hopes of deethnicising its appearance and making it more acceptable to other ethnicities. Regardless, the polity continued to be called "Rojava" by locals and international observers, with journalist Metin Gurcan noting that "the concept of Rojava [had become]

8732-804: The genocide and settled mainly in the Jazira area. Starting in 1926, the region saw another immigration of Kurds following the failure of the Sheikh Said rebellion against the Turkish authorities . While many of the Kurds in Syria have been there for centuries, waves of Kurds fled their homes in Turkey and settled in Syrian Al-Jazira Province , where they were granted citizenship by the French Mandate authorities . The number of Turkish Kurds settled in al-Jazira province during

8850-590: The government of Syria, state or other governments institutions except for the Catalan Parliament . The AANES has widespread support for its universal democratic , sustainable , autonomous pluralist , equal , and feminist policies in dialogues with other parties and organizations. Northeastern Syria is polyethnic and home to sizeable ethnic Kurdish , Arab , and Assyrian populations, with smaller communities of ethnic Turkmen , Armenians , Circassians , and Yazidis . The supporters of

8968-405: The groups to represent themselves and to form their own administrations". In July 2016, a draft for the new constitution was presented, based on the principles of the 2014 constitution, mentioning all ethnic groups living in Northern Syria and addressing their cultural, political and linguistic rights. The main political opposition to the constitution have been Kurdish nationalists , in particular

9086-525: The implementation of democratic confederalism , a form of libertarian socialism that emphasizes decentralization, gender equality and the need for local governance through direct democracy . Repression of the Kurds and other ethnic minorities has gone on since the creation of the French Mandate of Syria after the 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement . The Syrian government (officially known as the Syrian Arab Republic ) never officially acknowledged

9204-573: The infrastructure of the region on average experienced less destruction than other parts of Syria. In May 2016, Ahmed Yousef, head of the Economic Body and chairman of Afrin University, stated that at the time, the economic output of the region (including agriculture, industry and oil) accounted for about 55% of Syria's gross domestic product. In 2014, the Syrian government was still paying some state employees, but fewer than before. However,

9322-565: The initial civil uprising and civil war. Existing underground Kurdish political parties, namely the PYD and the Kurdish National Council (KNC), joined to form the Kurdish Supreme Committee (KSC). The People's Protection Units (YPG) militia was reestablished to defend Kurdish-inhabited areas in northern Syria. In July 2012, the YPG established control in the towns of Kobanî , Amuda and Afrin , and

9440-471: The land. According to the region's "Ministry of Economics", by 2015, approximately three-quarters of all property had been placed under community ownership and a third of production had been transferred to direct management by workers' councils . 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

9558-600: The linking of Rojava's cantons and captured all settlements in Jarabulus previously under SDF control. The SDF handed over part of the region to the Syrian government to act as a buffer zone against Turkey. Manbij remained under SDF control. In early 2018, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch alongside Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army to capture the Kurdish-majority Afrin and oust the YPG/SDF from

9676-645: The local government for the Kurdish-dominated areas in Afrin District , Ayn al-Arab District (Kobanî), and northern al-Hasakah Governorate was "Interim Transitional Administration", adopted in 2013. After the three autonomous cantons were proclaimed in 2014, PYD-governed territories were also nicknamed "the Autonomous Regions" or "Democratic Autonomous Administration". On 17 March 2016, northern Syria's administration self-declared

9794-500: The most democratic system in Syria, with direct open elections, universal equality , respecting human rights within the region, as well as defense of minority and religious rights within Syria. The region has implemented a new social justice approach which emphasizes rehabilitation , empowerment , and social care over retribution . The death penalty was abolished . Prisons house mostly people charged with terrorist activity related to ISIL and other extremist groups, and are

9912-603: The most sizeable ones. This has been compared this to the Lebanese confessionalist system, which is based on that country's major religions. The PYD-led rule has triggered protests in various areas since they first captured territory. In 2019, residents of tens of villages in the eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate demonstrated for two weeks, regarding the new regional leadership as Kurdish-dominated and non-inclusive, citing arrests of suspected ISIL members, looting of oil, lack of infrastructure as well as forced conscription into

10030-466: The nearby city of Aleppo due to the fighting in Aleppo city from 2012 to 2016. Price controls are managed by local committees, which can set the price of basic goods such as food and medical goods. It has been theorized that the Assad government had deliberately underdeveloped parts of Northern Syria in order to Arabize the region and make secession attempts less likely. During the Syrian Civil War,

10148-590: The new system because it encouraged tolerance and allowed Kurds and other minorities to be taught in their own languages, others have criticised it as de facto compulsory indoctrination. The federal, regional and local administrations in the region put much emphasis on promoting libraries and educational centers, to facilitate learning and social and artistic activities. Examples are the Nahawand Center for Developing Children's Talents in Amuda (est. 2015) and

10266-427: The next months, the crisis in Syria escalated into a civil war . The armed Syrian opposition seized control of several regions, while security forces were overstretched. In mid-2012 the government responded to this development by withdrawing its military from three mainly Kurdish areas and leaving control to local militias. This has been described as an attempt by the Assad regime to keep the Kurdish population out of

10384-615: The north, the YPG took control of at least parts of Qamishli , Efrin , Amude , Dirbesiye and Kobanî with very little conflict or casualties. On 2 August 2012, the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change announced that most Kurdish-majority cities in Syria, except Qamishli and Hasaka , were no longer controlled by government forces and were now being governed by Kurdish political parties. In Qamishli, government military and police forces remained in their barracks and administration officials in

10502-707: The northern Syrian mountains. There existed a Kurdish elite of which Saladin , the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and the Emir of Masyaf in the 12th century were part of. Under Saladin's rule, northern Syria experienced a mass immigration of Turkic groups who came into conflict with Kurdish tribes, resulting in clashes that wiped out several Kurdish communities. During the Ottoman Empire (1516–1922), large Kurdish-speaking tribal groups both settled in and were deported to areas of northern Syria from Anatolia . By

10620-519: The northern minorities including the Kurds rarely caused unrest with the exception of the 2004 Qamishli riots . The situation improved after the death of Hafez al-Assad and the election of his son, Bashar al-Assad , under whom the number of Kurdish officials grew. Despite the Ba'athist internal policies which officially suppressed a Kurdish identity, the Syrian government allowed the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to set up training camps from 1980. The PKK

10738-681: The number of such "stateless" Kurdish people in Syria at 300,000. In 1973, the Syrian authorities confiscated 750 square kilometres (290 square miles) of fertile agricultural land in Al-Hasakah Governorate , which was owned and cultivated by tens of thousands of Kurdish citizens, and gave it to Arab families brought in from other provinces. In 2007, in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, 600 square kilometres (230 square miles) around Al-Malikiyah were granted to Arab families, while tens of thousands of Kurdish inhabitants of

10856-577: The parties represented in TEV-DEM and the KNC, several other political groups operate in northern Syria. Several of these, such as the Kurdish National Alliance in Syria , the Democratic Conservative Party , the Assyrian Democratic Party , and others actively participate in governing the region. The politics of the region has been described as having "libertarian transnational aspirations" influenced by

10974-409: The polity uses the name Democratic Federation of Northern Syria ( DFNS ) ( Kurdish : Federaliya Demokratîk a Bakûrê Sûriyê ; Arabic : الفدرالية الديمقراطية لشمال سوريا , romanized :  al-Fidirāliyya al-Dīmuqrāṭiyya li-Šamāl Suriyā ; Classical Syriac : ܦܕܪܐܠܝܘܬ݂ܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܐܛܝܬܐ ܕܓܪܒܝ ܣܘܪܝܐ , romanized:  Federaloyotho Demoqraṭoyto d'Garbay Suriya ). Since 6 September 2018,

11092-579: The premises of Arta FM ("the first, and only, independent radio station staffed and broadcast by Syrians inside Syria") in Amuda was threatened and burned down by unidentified assailants. In December 2018 the Rojava Information Center was established. During the Turkish military operation in Afrin , the KDP -affiliated Iraqi Kurdish Rudaw Media Network was also banned from reporting in

11210-587: The presence of PKK-related forces at its southern border and grew concerned when the YPG entered into an alliance with the US to oppose ISIS forces in the region. The Turkish government refused to allow aid to be sent to the YPG during the Siege of Kobanî. This led to the Kurdish riots , the breakdown of the 2013–2015 peace process in July 2015 and the renewal of armed conflict between the PKK and Turkish forces. According to

11328-420: The protests were quelled. Thousands of Kurds then fled to Iraq, where a refugee camp was established. Occasional clashes between Kurdish protesters and government forces occurred in the following years. Mashouq al-Khaznawi , a very influential Kurdish sheikh, was killed in 2005 due to his increasing activism which began during the 2004 Qamishli uprisings. He was described as the "center" of the 2004 uprisings and

11446-633: The region is based on its adopted constitution, officially titled "Charter of the Social Contract". The constitution was ratified on 9 January 2014 and provides that all residents of the region shall enjoy fundamental rights such as gender equality and freedom of religion . It also provides for property rights . The region's system of community government has direct democratic aspirations. The Former diplomat Carne Ross observed in September 2015 in The New York Times : "For

11564-567: The region were held on 22 September 2017. 12,421 candidates competed for around 3,700 communal positions during the elections, which were organized by the region's High Electoral Commission. Elections for the councils of the Jazira Region, Euphrates Region and Afrin Region were held in December 2017 . Most of Afrin Region was occupied by Turkish-led forces in early 2018, though the administrative division continued to operate from Tell Rifaat which

11682-460: The region's administration state that it is an officially secular polity with direct democratic ambitions based on democratic confederalism and libertarian socialism promoting decentralization , gender equality , environmental sustainability , social ecology , and pluralistic tolerance for religious , cultural, and political diversity , and that these values are mirrored in its constitution , society, and politics, stating it to be

11800-420: The region. Afrin Canton , a subdivision of the region, was occupied and over 100,000 civilians were displaced and relocated to Afrin Region's Shahba Canton which remained under SDF, then joint SDF- Syrian Arab Army (SAA) control. The remaining SDF forces later launched an ongoing insurgency against the Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces. In 2019, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring against

11918-577: The region. On 2 September 2019, the Iraqi Kurdistan -based Kurdistan 24 network had its license to work in the region withdrawn and had its offices confiscated by Rojava authorities. International media and journalists operate with few restrictions in the region, one of the only regions in Syria where they can operate with some degree of freedom. Internet connections in the region are often slow due to inadequate infrastructure. Internet lines are operated by Syrian Telecom , which as of January 2017

12036-968: The region. Numerous place names were arabized in the 1960s and 1970s. In his report for the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council titled Persecution and Discrimination against Kurdish Citizens in Syria , the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights held that "Successive Syrian governments continued to adopt a policy of ethnic discrimination and national persecution against Kurds, completely depriving them of their national, democratic and human rights – an integral part of human existence. The government imposed ethnically-based programs, regulations and exclusionary measures on various aspects of Kurds' lives – political, economic, social and cultural." Kurdish cultural festivals like Newroz were effectively banned. In many instances,

12154-479: The sale of oil and other natural resources and tariffs on border commerce (which is clandestine because of the embargo). However, in July 2017, it was reported that the administration in the Jazira Region had started to collect income tax to provide for public services in the region. There are partnerships that have been created between private companies and the administration. The administration also funds

12272-513: The school system and distributes bread to all citizens at a below-market rate. The Movement for a Democratic Society Economic Committee has been helping businesses move towards a "community economy" based on worker cooperatives and self-sufficiency. Other cooperatives involve bottled mineral water, construction, factories, fuel stations, generators, livestock, oil, pistachio and roasted seeds, and public markets. Additionally there are several agricultural communes with families collectively working

12390-561: The sheikh." Another of Khaznawi's sons, Mohammed al-Khaznawi, stated that "my father was subjected to a lot of harassment before his death because of his stands backing the Kurdish cause." His body returned to Qamishli in early June, and his sons wrapped his body with the Kurdish flag and buried him. He was buried in the Qaddour Bey Cemetery, and became known as "Sheikh of the Martyrs". Tens of thousands of Kurds attended

12508-518: The south. The confident assertiveness of young people was striking. However, a 2016 paper from Chatham House stated that power is heavily centralized in the hands of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). Abdullah Öcalan , a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader imprisoned in İmralı , Turkey, has become an iconic figure in the region whose ideology of democratic confederalism has shaped the region's society and politics. Besides

12626-443: The start of the academic year 2018–2019, the curricula in Kurdish and Arabic had been expanded to grades 1–12 and Syriac to grades 1–9. " Jineology " classes had also been introduced. In general, schools are encouraged to teach the administration's "uptopian doctrine" which promotes diversity, democracy, and the ideas of Abdullah Öcalan . Local reactions to the changes to the school system and curriculum were mixed. While many praised

12744-404: The towns of Ra's al-'Ayn ( Kurdish : Serê Kaniyê ) and Al-Darbasiyah ( Kurdish : Dirbêsiyê ), after the security and political units withdrew from these areas, following an ultimatum issued by the Kurds. On the same day, clashes erupted in Qamishli between YPG and government forces in which one Kurdish fighter was killed and two were wounded along with one government official. On 24 July,

12862-409: The various forces controlling nearby areas of Syria. This has forced people to rely almost exclusively on diesel-run generators for electricity. Additionally, strong emphasis is being placed on businesses that can bring about self-sufficiency to the region. There were at first no direct or indirect taxes on people or businesses in the region; Instead the administration funded itself mainly through

12980-545: The villages concerned were evicted. These and other expropriations was part of the so-called "Arab Belt initiative" which aimed to change the demographic fabric of the resource-rich region. Accordingly, relations between the Syrian government and the Syrian Kurdish population were tense. The response of northern Syrian parties and movements to the policies of Hafez al-Assad 's Ba'athist government varied greatly. Some parties opted for resistance, whereas others such as

13098-546: The world stage"; one journalist stated that "this was one of the worst US foreign policy disasters since the Iraq War ". Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces captured 68 settlements, including Ras al-Ayn , Tell Abyad , Suluk , Mabrouka and Manajir during the 9-day operation before a 120-hour ceasefire was announced. The operation was condemned by the international community, and human rights violations by Turkish forces were reported. Media outlets labelled

13216-504: The world. During the 2004 Kurdish uprising , he began including Kurdish activism in the khutbahs he gave in mosques, in addition to seminars and lectures, in which he gave which spoke about the oppressive policies of the Baathist regime towards Kurds. Khaznawi was described as being the "center of the struggle" of the 2004 Kurdish uprisings, and the Syrian government considered him a "separatist threat". One of his most famous speeches

13334-487: Was a militant Kurdish group led by Abdullah Öcalan which was waging an insurgency against Turkey . Syria and Turkey were hostile toward each other at the time, resulting in the use of the PKK as proxy group. The party began to deeply influence the Syrian Kurdish population in the Afrin and Ayn al-Arab Districts , where it promoted Kurdish identity through music, clothing, popular culture, and social activities. In contrast,

13452-1036: Was born in Tel Marouf in Qamishli on January 1, 1958. He had 16 children. He studied under his father, as well as Mullah Abdullah Qartimini. He also graduated from the Institute of Sharia section of the Institute of Islamic Sciences, in Bab al-Jabiyah in Damascus . He then went to Medina and obtained a bachelor's degree in Islamic Sciences. He has a bachelors, masters, and a doctorate in Islamic Sciences from various universities. He participated in many Islamic conferences worldwide, including in Riyadh and Vienna , and has held many seminars in Europe and other parts of

13570-542: Was considered a threat by the Syrian government, who killed him and sparked outrage among Kurds. In 2011, the Arab Spring spread to Syria. In an echo of the Tunisian revolution , Syrian citizen Hasan Ali Akleh soaked himself in gasoline and set himself on fire in the northern city of Al-Hasakah . This inspired activists to call for a "Day of Rage", which was sparsely attended, mostly because of fear of repression from

13688-405: Was delivered on Nowruz , as well as his fiery speech on the anniversary of the death of Farhad Muhammad Ali, on April 8, 2005. He insisted that he was a target and that he was going to be killed, and he stated that the thought of death was not deterring him from fighting for Kurds. Khaznawi called on Kurds to use violence if it was necessary, and one of his famous quotes was "rights are not given as

13806-456: Was established as de facto Syrian "successor" of the PKK in 2003. The " People's Protection Units " (YPG), a paramilitary wing of the PYD, was also founded during this time, but remained dormant. In 2011, a civil uprising erupted in Syria, prompting hasty government reforms. One of the issues addressed during this time was the status of Syria's stateless Kurds, as President Bashar al-Assad granted about 220,000 Kurds citizenship. In course of

13924-633: Was no institution of tertiary education on the territory of the region at the onset of the Syrian Civil War, an increasing number of such institutions have been established by the regional administrations in the region since. Incorporating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights , as well as other internationally recognized human rights conventions,

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