Foreign fighters in the Syrian Democratic Forces

Hundreds of foreign fighters have joined the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and its various component and allied militias involved in the Rojava conflict since 2012, when the Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (Turkey) (MLKP) began sending some of its members to assist the Kurdish-majority People's Protection Units (YPG) after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.[1][2] People from Turkey (excluding Turkish Kurds, who aren't considered as foreigners by Syrian Kurds) are the largest nationality among them, followed by Americans and English people.

Members of the International Freedom Battalion at the funeral of Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (Turkey) fighter Ayşe Deniz Karacagil in the Martyrs' Cemetery, Kobanî, July 2017

These foreign fighters have taken part in the SDF's various campaigns throughout the conflict, and scores have been killed. Most are socialist, and joined to defend the democratic confederalism of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the Republic of Turkey,[3][4] while many non-socialist volunteers are motivated by a desire to combat the Islamic State and other Islamist groups because of the human rights abuses they perpetrate.

The International Freedom Battalion (IFB) is the largest group of foreign fighters in the SDF, followed by the YPG International Tabur. European volunteers have sometimes been prosecuted in their home countries for joining the SDF, a policy believed to result from diplomatic pressure from the Islamist Turkish government on their home states.[5][6][7][8][9][10] Some have been jailed. The first foreign volunteer to come to international attention was Jordan Matson.

References
  1. "Interview with YPG Commander Cihan Kendal". September 19, 2016.
  2. http://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/565298-outlawed-turkish-party-establishes-syria-battalion
  3. "Rojava Is Under Existential Threat". jacobinmag.com.
  4. "Turkey and Rojava: The clash of two projects". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com.
  5. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/terrorism-policing-ypgypj-ally-abroad-but-danger-at-home/
  6. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "YPG returnees: Counterterrorist fighters under suspicion | DW | 05.01.2020". DW.COM.
  7. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-kurdish-ypg-syria-terror-charge-turkey-a9612321.html
  8. Gallagher, Ryan (July 10, 2017). "To Syria and Back: Josh Walker Fought Against ISIS. He Almost Got Killed. Now He's Charged With Terrorism".
  9. "Danish woman who fought against Isis faces jail sentence". the Guardian. December 19, 2016.
  10. "Man arrested at Luton airport under terror laws fought against Isis in Syria". The Independent. December 31, 2018.
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