International Freedom Battalion

The International Freedom Battalion (Turkish: Enternasyonalist Özgürlük Taburu; Kurdish: Tabûra Azadî ya Înternasyonal‎; Arabic: تابور الحرية العالمي‎), commonly abbreviated as IFB or EÖT, is an armed group consisting of leftist foreign fighters fighting for the People's Protection Units in the Syrian Civil War in support of the Rojava Revolution and against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Turkish Armed Forces, and the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army.[4][5] The formation of the IFB was announced in June 2015 in Serê Kaniyê (Ras al-Ayn).[6] Inspiration for the group came from the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War. The political ideologies of the fighters include Marxism–Leninism, Hoxhaism, Maoism, and anarcho-communism.

International Freedom Battalion
Tabûra Azadî ya Înternasyonal
Participant in the Rojava conflict and the Syrian Civil War
Banner used by the International Freedom Battalion
Active10 June 2015 – present
StatusActive
IdeologyRevolutionary socialism
Proletarian internationalism
Anti-fascism
Factions:
Anarchism
Communism
Political positionFar-left
Group(s)See groups
Area of operationsRojava, Syria
Allies Syrian Democratic Forces

YPG International[1][2]
Antifascist Forces in Afrin
TKP-Kıvılcım
Kurdistan Workers' Party

Opponent(s) Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
 Turkey
Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army
Battles and war(s)Syrian Civil War
Flag
Insignia

Main groups

The International Freedom Battalion was formed by left-wing armed groups (as well as individuals not part of any other groups), most of whom had been fighting with the YPG before the creation of the IFB. These groups include:

Birleşik Özgürlük Güçleri
Main article: United Freedom Forces

The United Freedom Forces (Turkish: Birleşik Özgürlük Güçleri, or BÖG), inspired by the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War, were founded in December 2014 in the town of Kobanê as an organization of foreign leftist fighters of both revolutionary socialist and anarchist convictions. While the MLKP didn't join,[7] these groups would eventually unite in the International Freedom Battalion. BÖG also has a female branch named "Women's Freedom Forces" (Kadın Özgürlük Gücü in Turkish).[8] BÖG is considered to be the largest group within the International Freedom Battalion.[9] BOG contains several factions, see Member groups

Marksist-Leninist Komünist Partisi

The Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (Turkish: Marksist-Leninist Komünist Partisi, abbreviated as MLKP) is an underground Hoxhaist communist party from Turkey. MLKP fighters had reportedly been sent to Syria to fight with the People's Protection Units since 2012. MLKP fighters also joined the Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) December 2014 Sinjar offensive in Northern Iraq in defence of the Yezidi minority in Sinjar.[10] In March 2015 a 19-year-old German woman, Ivana Hoffmann, was killed whilst fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the Eastern al-Hasakah offensive, making her the third foreign fighter, as well as the first female foreign fighter, to die while fighting alongside the YPG.[11][12] MLKP's female organisation, Komünist Kadın Örgütü, has also been involved in fighting.[13] MLKP was heavily involved in forming the International Freedom Battalion.

TKP/ML TİKKO

The Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye İşci ve Köylü Kurtuluş Ordusu, abbreviated as TİKKO) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (Turkish: Türkiye Komünist Partisi/Marksist-Leninist, abbreviated as TKP/ML), a Maoist insurgent organisation in Turkey. On 25 March 2016, the TKP/ML TİKKO headquarters in Serêkaniyê were targeted by a motorcycle bomb, causing slight injuries to two members and damage to the headquarters. Two suspects were detained by the Asayiş.[14][15][16]

Türkiye Komünist Emek Partisi/Leninist

The Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist (Turkish: Türkiye Komünist Emek Partisi/Leninist, abbreviated as TKEP/L) is an illegal Marxist-Leninist party in Turkey.[17]

Minor groups

Sosyal İsyan

Social Insurrection was founded in 2013 in Turkey by a group of green anarchists in Tuzluçayır. [9][18][19]

Reconstrucción Comunista
Flag of RC

Communist Reconstruction (Spanish: Reconstrucción Comunista, abbreviated as RC) is a Marxist-Leninist group from Spain. The group carries a variant of the Flag of the Second Spanish Republic. RC has strong ties to the MLKP and members fight as part of MLKP formations, even fighting in Sinjar. Two members of the group were arrested by police after their return to Spain and were accused of participating in an armed conflict outside of Spain without authorization from the state, as well as putting national interests at risk and joining groups fighting against ISIL that are considered terrorist organizations by international organizations.[20] In January 2016, eight Spanish citizens and one Turkish citizen were arrested in Spain.[21] The Spanish Interior Ministry said in a statement that "The detained, in collaboration with other individuals residing in various European countries, were providing the necessary infrastructure for displaced people to travel abroad and to finally integrate in the ranks of the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) or one of the armed wings of the organization" and that the majority of the arrested belong to the group 'Communist Reconstruction'.[22]

Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity

Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity (Greek: Επαναστατικός Σύνδεσμος Διεθνιστικής Αλληλεγγύης, abbreviated as ΕΣΔΑ) is an anarcho-communist group from Greece.[23][24] They have fought in Syria since 2015. Their appearance has alarmed Greek security and intelligence officials alleging that "warriors will be trained in guerilla warfare and then will be able to apply what they have learned in their homeland".[25]

Bob Crow Brigade
Flag of the Bob Crow Brigade

The Bob Crow Brigade (abbreviated as BCB) is a group of fighters from the United Kingdom and Ireland[26] named after Bob Crow, an English trade union leader and self-described "communist/socialist", who had died of a heart attack in March 2014. The group expressed solidarity with striking rail workers in the United Kingdom.[27] Steve Hedley, senior assistant general secretary of the RMT, said: "Bob would have been honoured that young people from Britain would fight the forces of evil in his name. A great admirer of the international brigades that fought in Spain, Crow would of course have drawn the parallels with the new international brigades fighting clerical fascism and defending Yazhidi, Muslim and Christian workers from slavery and persecution."[28]

After Turkey and its allied rebel groups invaded parts of northern Syria and clashed with the Syrian Democratic Forces, Turkish officials stated that they will treat British and other foreign volunteers fighting alongside the YPG as terrorists.[29][30] On 2 September, the Bob Crow Brigade relocated from the Raqqa front to Manbij and stated "When we came to defend the revolution we meant from all enemies, big or small".[31] On 7 September 2016, the Bob Crow Brigade sent a message of solidarity to the women of Ireland fighting to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland on the 33rd anniversary of its approval by referendum, as well as striking Irish bus workers the following day.[32][33]

Henri Krasucki Brigade
The flag of the Henri Krasucki Brigade[24]

The Henri Krasucki Brigade (French: Brigade Henri Krasucki) is a group of fighters from France. Inspired by their English-speaking counterparts of the Bob Crow Brigade, they named themselves after the French trade-unionist Henri Krasucki.[24] The group expressed solidarity with the CGT union and the Air France workers on trial for the "shirt-ripping case" over an incident on 5 October 2015, which arose from a dispute over the aviation giant's plans to cut 2,900 jobs.[34]

International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces
The flag of the IRPGF

The International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces (abbreviated as IRPGF) is a militant, armed, self-organized, and horizontal collective of foreign anarchist fighters from around the world. The formation of the IRPGF was announced on 31 March 2017 in a video and text release to several revolutionary websites and media organizations.[35] According to the declaration of the group, their goals are to defend the social revolution in Rojava and spread anarchism.

They are a member organization and part of the management team of the International Freedom Battalion since April 2017, this was announced by the IFB on 17 May on their Facebook page. Their public formation and solidarity campaigns have garnered interest and support from around the world as well as backlash.[36][37] On 24 July, the group established an LGBT unit, the TQILA.[38][39]. On September 24, 2018, the group announced its dissolution in a final communique.[40]

The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army
The flag of TQILA

The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army (abbreviated as TQILA)[note 1] was a unit of the IFB announced in 24 July 2017, by members of the IRPGF from Raqqa City and disbanded on 24 September 2018. The group launched a statement explaining the purposes of its formation in which the response to persecution of LGBT persons by ISIL is highlighted as one of the main motivations of the group. They were part of the International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces and International Freedom Battalion.

Structure
  • Members of International Freedom Battalion.
  • IFB members in the ceremony and burial of Ayşe Deniz Karacagil of MLKP in Kobanê.
  • Women of IFB in solidarity with Ni una menos.
  • Members of International Freedom Battalion.
  • IFB members in solidarity with PFLP.
  • Some members of the Bob Crow Brigade.

Fatalities
Date of deathNameAgeNationalityGroupLocation of death
September 2013Serkan TosunN/ATurkishMLKPRas al-Ayn, Al-Hasakah Governorate[41]
7 March 2015Ivana Hoffman19GermanMLKPnear Tell Tamer, Al-Hasakah Governorate[42]
7 March–19 May 2015N/AN/ATurkishMLKPAyn al-Arab District, Aleppo Governorate & Al-Hasakah Governorate[41]
7 March–19 May 2015N/AN/ATurkishMLKPAyn al-Arab District, Aleppo Governorate & Al-Hasakah Governorate[41]
7 March–19 May 2015N/AN/ATurkishMLKPAyn al-Arab District, Aleppo Governorate & Al-Hasakah Governorate[41]
7 March–19 May 2015N/AN/ATurkishMLKPAyn al-Arab District, Aleppo Governorate & Al-Hasakah Governorate[41]
7 March–19 May 2015N/AN/ATurkishMLKPAyn al-Arab District, Aleppo Governorate & Al-Hasakah Governorate[41]
7 March–19 May 2015N/AN/ATurkishMLKPAyn al-Arab District, Aleppo Governorate & Al-Hasakah Governorate[41]
25 May 2015Bedrettin AkdenizN/ATurkishBÖGTil Xenzir, Al-Hasakah Governorate[43]
2 June 2015Mahir ArpaçayN/ATurkishBÖGnear Ras al-Ayn, Al-Hasakah Governorate[44]
21 September 2015Aziz GülerN/ATurkishBÖGnear Ras al-Ayn, Al-Hasakah Governorate[45]
28 June 2016Eylem AtaşN/ATurkishBÖGManbij, Aleppo Governorate[46]
24 November 2016Michael Israel27AmericanYPG & BÖGwest of Manbij, Aleppo Governorate[47][48]
7 January 2017Muzaffer KandemirN/ATurkishBÖGwest of Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate[49]
10 May 2017Ulaş BayraktaroğluN/ATurkishBÖGnear Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate[50]
29 May 2017Ayşe Deniz Karacagil23TurkishMLKPnear Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate[51][52]
29 May 2017Hasan AliN/ATurkishBÖGnear Raqqa, Raqqa Governorate[53][54]
14 August 2017Nubar Ozanyan61TurkishTKP/MLRaqqa, Raqqa Governorate[55]
September 2017Gökhan Taşyakan38TurkishBÖGRaqqa, Raqqa Governorate[56]
1–2 February 2018 Sinan Ateş N/A Turkish TKEP/L Afrin district[57]
24 February 2018 Haukur Hilmarsson 32 Icelandic YPG, RUIS, MLKP[58] Afrin district[59][60]
4 March 2018 Şevger Ara Makhno N/A Turkish YPG, AFFA, Tekoşîna Anarşîst near Rajo, Afrin district[61][62]
13 March 2018 Taylan Demircioğlu N/ATurkish YPG, TKEP/L Afrin district[63]
March 2018 N/A N/A Turkish YPG, MLKP Afrin district[62]
March 2018 N/A N/A Turkish YPG, MLKP Afrin district[62]
March 2018 N/A N/A Turkish YPG, MLKP Afrin district[62]
March 2018 N/A N/A Turkish YPG, DKP Afrin district[62]
March 2018 N/A N/A Turkish YPG, DKP Afrin district[62]
18 March 2019 Lorenzo Orsetti 33 Italian TKP/ML (early)
Tekoşîna Anarşîst		 Al-Baghuz Fawqani, Deir ez-Zor Governorate[64]
3 November 2019 Ceren Güneş N/A Turkish DKP Tell Tamer, Al-Hasakah Governorate[65]
6 November 2019 Aynur Ada N/A Turkish Women's Freedom Forces Tell Tamer, Al-Hasakah Governorate[66]
6 November 2019 Yasin Aydın N/A Turkish United Freedom Forces Tell Tamer, Al-Hasakah Governorate[66]
gollark: Strings are probably recommended, since they're clearer.
gollark: Doesn't matter much, unless you really want relay compatibility.
gollark: Numeric ones are, it's important to note, relayed onto the actual server by a skynet relay I set up.
gollark: They can be numbers or strings.
gollark: Nope!

See also

References
  1. Pronounced like the word tequila.
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Bibliography
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