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YPG: The Kurdish Force That Fought ISIS and Changed the Map of Syria
Founded as a local self-defence force, reorganised as Syria collapsed, and then handed a global role as the West's preferred ground force against ISIS — the YPG's trajectory is the story of how the Syrian war transformed Kurdish politics.
Confirmed3 chapters2004-01-01
The YPG's story runs across three phases: a pre-war Kurdish self-organisation in the face of Ba'athist marginalisation; a rapid military expansion as Syria fractured in 2011-2012; and a defining role in the anti-ISIS campaign that made it simultaneously the most capable US ally on the ground and Turkey's declared enemy.
01
Chapter 01custom01 / 03
2004-01-01—2011-12-31Northeastern Syria (Jazira, Kobani, Afrin)
Origins in the Ba'athist Margin
2004: Founded After the Qamishli Uprising
The YPG was founded in 2004, the same year as the Qamishli uprising — a pivotal moment in Syrian Kurdish history when clashes between Kurdish football fans and Arab fans at a match in Qamishli spiralled into large-scale protests against Ba'athist rule, killing dozens. The uprising demonstrated both the depth of Kurdish political organisation in northeastern Syria and the regime's willingness to use lethal force against it.
The PYD — the Democratic Union Party, founded in 2003 as the Syrian affiliate of Abdullah Öcalan's political movement — established the YPG as its armed wing. The group drew on the PKK's military doctrine and Öcalan's evolving ideology of 'democratic confederalism': a framework that rejected ethnic nationalism in favour of decentralised, feminist, ecologically-minded self-governance.
For the following seven years, the YPG operated quietly in Kurdish-majority areas of northern Syria — the Jazira region, Kobani, and Afrin — as a local force with limited reach. The Assad regime tolerated the PYD more than it tolerated other Kurdish parties, partly because of the PYD's PKK lineage (Turkey was an Assad adversary) and partly because the PYD avoided direct confrontation with the state. This complex accommodation would define the early months of the Syrian uprising.
The PYD — the Democratic Union Party, founded in 2003 as the Syrian affiliate of Abdullah Öcalan's political movement — established the YPG as its armed wing. The group drew on the PKK's military doctrine and Öcalan's evolving ideology of 'democratic confederalism': a framework that rejected ethnic nationalism in favour of decentralised, feminist, ecologically-minded self-governance.
For the following seven years, the YPG operated quietly in Kurdish-majority areas of northern Syria — the Jazira region, Kobani, and Afrin — as a local force with limited reach. The Assad regime tolerated the PYD more than it tolerated other Kurdish parties, partly because of the PYD's PKK lineage (Turkey was an Assad adversary) and partly because the PYD avoided direct confrontation with the state. This complex accommodation would define the early months of the Syrian uprising.
Confirmed(88%)Sensitivity: medium
02
Chapter 02custom02 / 03
2012-07-19—2014-06-30Kobani, Afrin, Jazira — northern Syria
July 2012: Syria Fractures, Rojava Emerges
The YPG Takes Control of Kurdish Areas as Government Forces Withdraw
In July 2012, as the Syrian civil war intensified and government forces concentrated on urban combat against the mainstream opposition, the Assad regime made a calculated withdrawal from most Kurdish-majority areas in northern Syria. The YPG moved quickly to fill the vacuum.
Between July 19 and July 24, 2012 — a period Kurds refer to as the 'July Revolution' — the YPG took control of Kobani, Amuda, Afrin, and Derik (Al-Malikiyah) without significant fighting. Government institutions were replaced by PYD-affiliated administration structures. The YPG expanded rapidly from a small cadre into a substantial military force, recruiting from the local Kurdish population and, to a lesser extent, from Arab and Syriac Christian communities.
The PYD declared the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) — known internationally as Rojava — as a self-governing entity operating under democratic confederalist principles. The YPG became Rojava's army. It structured itself with a parallel women's force, the YPJ (Women's Protection Units), reflecting Öcalan's ideological emphasis on women's liberation as a prerequisite for social liberation.
At this point the YPG was largely focused on local defence: protecting Kurdish communities from both regime attacks and the growing jihadist threat along its borders.
Between July 19 and July 24, 2012 — a period Kurds refer to as the 'July Revolution' — the YPG took control of Kobani, Amuda, Afrin, and Derik (Al-Malikiyah) without significant fighting. Government institutions were replaced by PYD-affiliated administration structures. The YPG expanded rapidly from a small cadre into a substantial military force, recruiting from the local Kurdish population and, to a lesser extent, from Arab and Syriac Christian communities.
The PYD declared the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) — known internationally as Rojava — as a self-governing entity operating under democratic confederalist principles. The YPG became Rojava's army. It structured itself with a parallel women's force, the YPJ (Women's Protection Units), reflecting Öcalan's ideological emphasis on women's liberation as a prerequisite for social liberation.
At this point the YPG was largely focused on local defence: protecting Kurdish communities from both regime attacks and the growing jihadist threat along its borders.
Confirmed(93%)Sensitivity: high
03
Chapter 03custom03 / 03
2014-09-01Northern Syria — Kobani, Jazira, Afrin, Deir ez-Zor
Kobani, the Coalition, and the SDF
2014–2019: The Anti-ISIS Campaign That Made the YPG Indispensable
The battle for Kobani, which began in September 2014, transformed the YPG's strategic position entirely. When ISIS besieged the border town of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab) with tanks and artillery, the YPG's lightly armed fighters held the town against a months-long assault. The US-led coalition began airstrikes in support of the YPG defence — the first substantial US-YPG military cooperation. The battle lasted from September 2014 to January 2015. ISIS lost thousands of fighters. Kobani became a symbol.
The Kobani battle demonstrated two things: that the YPG could fight ISIS effectively on the ground, and that it needed sustained external support to do so. The US, evaluating its options after the collapse of the Iraqi army and the failure of moderate Syrian rebel programmes, committed to a partnership. In October 2015, the YPG joined Arab rebel factions to form the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — a coalition that maintained the YPG as its primary military force while providing a multi-ethnic face acceptable to US political constraints.
The SDF-YPG campaign against ISIS ran from 2015 to 2019, culminating in the Battle of Baghuz Fawqani, where the last ISIS territorial enclave was eliminated in March 2019. The YPG and SDF lost thousands of fighters in this campaign.
Throughout this period, Turkey conducted three major military operations against YPG-held territory: Operation Euphrates Shield (2016-2017), Operation Olive Branch (2018, taking Afrin), and Operation Peace Spring (2019, taking a border strip in northeast Syria). Turkey maintains that the YPG is organizationally identical to the PKK and therefore a terrorist group. The US government has consistently refused to accept this designation while maintaining the YPG/SDF partnership.
The Kobani battle demonstrated two things: that the YPG could fight ISIS effectively on the ground, and that it needed sustained external support to do so. The US, evaluating its options after the collapse of the Iraqi army and the failure of moderate Syrian rebel programmes, committed to a partnership. In October 2015, the YPG joined Arab rebel factions to form the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — a coalition that maintained the YPG as its primary military force while providing a multi-ethnic face acceptable to US political constraints.
The SDF-YPG campaign against ISIS ran from 2015 to 2019, culminating in the Battle of Baghuz Fawqani, where the last ISIS territorial enclave was eliminated in March 2019. The YPG and SDF lost thousands of fighters in this campaign.
Throughout this period, Turkey conducted three major military operations against YPG-held territory: Operation Euphrates Shield (2016-2017), Operation Olive Branch (2018, taking Afrin), and Operation Peace Spring (2019, taking a border strip in northeast Syria). Turkey maintains that the YPG is organizationally identical to the PKK and therefore a terrorist group. The US government has consistently refused to accept this designation while maintaining the YPG/SDF partnership.
Confirmed(94%)Sensitivity: high
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