Syrian Democratic Forces

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are a multi-ethnic military alliance formed in 2015 and dominated by Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria. They became a principal U.S. partner in the campaign against the Islamic State.

People’s Protection Units: The People’s Protection Units (YPG) are a Kurdish-led militia that became the SDF’s core military component. The YPG supplied the alliance’s principal fighting force and organizational foundation.
Syrian civil war: The Syrian civil war is an armed conflict that began in 2011 after protests against Bashar al-Assad’s government. The war created the fragmented political and military landscape in which the SDF formed.
Battle of Raqqa: The Battle of Raqqa was a 2017 campaign in which the SDF captured the Islamic State’s de facto Syrian capital. The victory marked the SDF’s most prominent operation against ISIS.
Kurdistan Workers’ Party: The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is a Kurdish militant organization that has fought the Turkish state since 1984. Turkey considers the YPG and SDF closely linked to the PKK, a characterization the United States does not apply to the SDF.
Women’s Protection Units: The Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) are an all-female Kurdish militia that operates in northern Syria. YPJ fighters joined the SDF and became one of its most recognizable components.
Rojava: Rojava is a name used for Kurdish-led self-administration established in parts of northern Syria during the civil war. Its institutions and forces provided much of the SDF’s political and military setting.
Battle of Baghuz Fawqani: The Battle of Baghuz Fawqani was the 2019 campaign that ended the Islamic State’s last territorial enclave in Syria. SDF forces led the ground campaign that removed ISIS’s final territorial stronghold.
Syrian National Army: The Syrian National Army is a Turkish-backed coalition of Syrian opposition factions operating mainly in northern Syria. It has fought SDF forces and represents a competing armed authority in northern Syria.
Syrian Arab Coalition: The Syrian Arab Coalition is an umbrella for Arab armed groups that joined the SDF. Its participation broadened the alliance beyond its Kurdish-led core.
Islamic State: The Islamic State is a jihadist organization that controlled territory in Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate in 2014. Its expansion prompted the SDF’s formation and shaped its early military purpose.

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