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YPG – People's Defense Units
Wikipedia (en)
The People's Defense Units, also called People's Protection Units (Kurdish: Yekîneyên Parastina Gel یەکینەیێن پاراستنا گەل (YPG) pronounced [jɛkiːnɛjeːn pɑːɾɑːstɯnɑː ɡɛl]; Arabic: وحدات حماية الشعب, romanized: Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb), is a mainly-Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).According to Turkey, the YPG is closely associated with the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by numerous countries and international organizations, including the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and Australia. US Army Special Operations Commander General Raymond Thomas openly admitted the YPG's affiliation with the PKK, pointing out that it was only planned as a "brand name change".The YPG mostly consists of ethnic Kurds, but also includes Arabs and foreign volunteers; it is closely allied to the Syriac Military Council, an Assyrian militia. The YPG was formed in 2011. It expanded rapidly in the Syrian Civil War and came to predominate over other armed Syrian Kurdish groups. A sister militia, the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), fights alongside them. The YPG is active in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), particularly in its Kurdish regions.
In early 2015, the group won a major victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the siege of Kobanî, where the YPG began to receive air and ground support from the United States and other Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve militaries. Since then, the YPG has primarily fought against ISIL, as well as on occasion fighting other Syrian rebel groups and the Turkish Armed Forces. In late 2015, the YPG became part of the SDF, an umbrella group intended to better incorporate Arabs and minorities into the war effort. In 2016–2017, the SDF's Raqqa campaign led to the liberation of the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State's de facto capital. Several western sources have described the YPG as the "most effective" force in fighting ISIL in Syria. By Turkey, the YPG is viewed as a terrorist organization with ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) a view not shared with their partners of the military alliance within the NATO. Sweden’s alleged support for the YPG, is one of the points which caused Turkey to oppose Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession bid.A light infantry force, the YPG has limited military equipment and few armoured vehicles. The YPG and affiliated groups are designated as terrorist organizations by only Turkey and Qatar.
