Democratic Forces of Syria

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Democratic Forces of Syria
قوات سوريا الديمقراطية
Hêzên Sûriya Demokratîk
ܚܝ̈ܠܘܬܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܛܝܬܐ

Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svg

Banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces
Lineup 2015
Country Syria
Subordinate troops
Butcher civil war in Syria
Web presence https://sdf-press.com/en/
commander
Important
commanders

Rojda Felat

SDF fighters north of Raqqa in December 2016.
The front line in the area of ​​the Syrian-Iraqi border on November 12, 2015.
Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces in Manbij in August 2016.
In several phases, the SDF was able to approach the IS stronghold of Raqqa and take the city in October 2017.

The Democratic Forces of Syria or DKS for short ( Arabic قوات سوريا الديمقراطية, DMG Quwwāt Sūriyā ad-dīmuqrāṭīya ; Kurdish Hêzên Sûriya Demokratîk ; Aramaic ܚܝ̈ܠܘܬܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܛܝܬܐ; English Syrian Democratic Forces , abbreviated SDF or QSD ) are a military alliance formed on October 10, 2015 during the civil war in Syria .

To complement the military umbrella alliance of the Syrian Democratic Forces , the political umbrella alliance of the Syrian Democratic Council was founded and elected on December 10, 2015 . Both are committed to the goal of a secular , democratic and federally structured Syria.

Background and composition

The military alliance SDF currently consists of

The estimates of the numerical strength of the SDF vary widely, a mean estimate from August 2015 for the militias united in the SDF was 55,000 fighters. General Ferhat Abdi Şahin alias Mazlum Kobane said in an interview with CBS in June 2018 that 60,000 fighters are under his command.

The organization Islamic State (IS) is a major military opponent of the SDF .

Support from the International Anti-ISIS Coalition

The SDF are supported by the union of Western and Sunni-Arab states, which has been attacking targets in Syria from the air since 2014 under the leadership of the USA ( Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve ). The aim is to liberate the northern Syrian city of Raqqa and Ramadi in neighboring Iraq in joint commandos from the hands of the jihadist - Salafist organization Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), said US Defense Minister Ashton Carter . The SDF were the result of a new US policy on Syria; a US government program to build up an Arab armed force against the Syrian government under President Bashar al-Assad had previously failed and Russia intervened in the war .

As US media reported, the SDF should also be armed and a force of more than 20,000 Kurds and up to 5,000 Arabs should be promoted in northeast Syria. It was openly written that it is primarily about the YPG; the Arab participants in the SDF are militarily weak, politically unreliable and only serve as fig leaves . The YPG are an important partner for the US administration, although they are close to the PKK , which is considered a terrorist organization in the US.

On October 30, 2015, US President Barack Obama approved the deployment of a “small unit of US special forces”, a maximum of 50 soldiers, to northern Syria. US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said at a hearing in the Senate Armed Forces Committee , "The changes we are making can be described in what I call the 'three Rs' - Raqqa, Ramadi and raids." In 2018, according to the CBS around 2,000 US soldiers were stationed in various bases in support of the SDF in northern Syria.

The ideologically Islamist Syrian opposition groups in the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces , supported by Turkey , oppose the international support of the secular SDF.

Military offensives

Between October 30 and November 13, 2015, the SDF recaptured over 1300 km² from IS in the east of the al-Hasakah governorate . The focus was on the liberation of the cities of al-Haul and al-Chatuniya, which also cut important ISIS supply routes. At the same time as this conquest, the city of Sinjar in Iraq was liberated by Kurdish units.

On February 19, 2016, the city of Ash-Shaddadi was captured by the SDF, thus ousting ISIS from the last major city of al-Hasakah governorate.

On May 24th, the SDF started the offensive for the “Liberation of North Raqqa ”. They were supported by special forces from the US Army . On June 1, the SDF also launched a large-scale offensive in the direction of the city of Manbij west of the Euphrates . Manbij was captured on August 13th after about two months of fighting.

Turkish troops and their allied rebels attacked from Karkamış in Jarabulus on August 24, 2016 to prevent SDF fighters from taking the place. At the same time, Turkish diplomats succeeded in having the US withdraw support from the SDF should SDF fighters advance further or refuse to retreat to the eastern side of the Euphrates and leave the previously conquered Manbij to the Turks.

On November 6, 2016, the SDF began a large-scale offensive to encircle and besiege Raqqa. In several phases, the SDF was able to capture several hundred villages by May 2017 and approach the city of Raqqa along Lake Assad. In mid-March 2017, some SDF troops crossed the Euphrates west of ath-Thaura and attacked IS in ath-Thaura. On May 10, 2017, the SDF declared complete control of the city of ath-Thaura and the important Tabqa dam . Raqqa, which lies north of the Euphrates, was now enclosed on three sides. All bridges across the river have also been destroyed. At the beginning of June 2017, the SDF announced the start of the attack on the city itself. On October 17, 2017, SDF spokesman Talo Silo announced that the battle for ar-Raqqa had ended and the fighting had ceased. The SDF would still clear booby traps and search for sleeper cells.

On August 25, 2017, the SDF announced that they would begin an offensive in the direction of Deir ez Zor within weeks . The offensive began in September 2017.

Turkish attack and termination of the fight against ISIS

After Turkish troops in late January in the Kurdish-Syrian 2,018 Province Afrin were sunken, which was defended initially exclusively by the YPG, the Kurdish leadership was forced to withdraw more and more forces from the SDF and after Afrin or in which also threatened manbij to that the Turkish president had announced several times that it would be conquered. The withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from the region near Deir ez-Zor weakened the combat value of the remaining troops considerably. The few remaining Kurdish SDF fighters, the Arab parts of the SDF and their American advisors were too weak to continue offensive actions against the remnants of IS on the Euphrates, and they had to limit themselves to defense, while only the US Air Force remained offensive . In May 2018, a new offensive against IS began in Deir ez-Zor, during which large parts of eastern Syria could be captured. In October, the Turkish armed forces attacked towns near Kobane and the town of Tel Abyad in Syrian territory, whereupon the SDF announced that they would suspend the offensive against IS again.

Captured IS fighters

In the course of the fight against ISIS, the SDF captured several European IS fighters. Negotiations are ongoing as to which and whether these fighters can be returned to their countries of origin. On July 26, 2018, the YPJ handed over a widow of an IS sniper with their children and a man who had been convicted in the USA for providing material support to IS to the FBI.

Web links

Commons : Democratic Forces of Syria  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Declaration of Establishment by Democratic Syria Forces. In: kurdishquestion.com. October 15, 2015, archived from the original on February 24, 2016 ; accessed on November 4, 2015 .
  2. ^ Kurdish-Arab coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria creates political wing. GlobalPost (AFP), December 10, 2015, accessed May 26, 2016 .
  3. ^ Executive Board of Democratic Syria Assembly elected. ANF, December 13, 2015, archived from the original on December 20, 2015 ; accessed on May 26, 2016 (English).
  4. ↑ Syrian Kurds now say they now control the size of Qatar and Kuwait combined. Business Insider (Reuters), August 14, 2015, accessed May 26, 2016 .
  5. ↑ a b What remains to be done in the final phase of America's war on ISIS . ( cbsnews.com [accessed October 31, 2018]).
  6. ↑ a b Knut Mellenthin : November 4th, 2015: Obama sends soldiers. US government wants to step up military intervention in Syria and Iraq. At least officially it is against the "Islamic State". In: young world . November 4, 2015, accessed November 4, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Fight against terrorist militia: Syrian Kurds and Arabs ally against IS. In: The world. October 12, 2015, accessed November 4, 2015 .
  8. Jump up ↑ Syria war: USA sends special forces to Syria. In: The time. October 30, 2015, accessed November 4, 2015 .
  9. ↑ Lee Jay: Leader of US Supported Syrian Rebel Group Backs Al-Qaeda. Modern Tokyo Times, June 2, 2016, accessed June 3, 2016 .
  10. ^ A b Liz Sly, Karen DeYoung: Ignoring Turkey, US backs Kurds in drive against ISIS in Syria. In: Washington Post. June 1, 2016, Retrieved June 3, 2016 (American English).
  11. ↑ SDF releases balance sheet of the operation in south Hesekê . Article on ANF News of November 16, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  12. ↑ SDF started the offensive on Raqqa with US support. Telepolis, May 26, 2016, accessed May 26, 2016 .
  13. ↑ Mysterious Kurdish commander chasing IS. T-Online, May 26, 2016, accessed May 26, 2016 .
  14. ↑ Wladimir van Wilgenburg: US commandos aid Kurdish-led push on Islamic State's Syrian stronghold. MiddleEastEye, May 26, 2016, accessed May 26, 2016 .
  15. ↑ Philip Issa: Blast at Turkish border crossing kills 10 Syrian rebels . In: AP News , August 14, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  16. ↑ Erin Cunningham, Karen DeYoung, Liz Sly: Turkish troops enter Syria to take on ISIS, backed by US warplanes . In: Washington Post , August 24, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  17. ↑ Rebels recapture Thaura Dam from IS . In: Die Zeit , May 11, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  18. ^ IS stronghold: Syrian Kurds launch offensive on Raqqa . In: Tagesschau.de , June 6, 2017. Accessed June 6, 2017.
  19. ↑ US-backed force claims capture of Islamic State's de facto Syrian capital Raqqa. Washington Post October 17, 2017
  20. ↑ Reuters Editorial: US-backed forces to attack Syria's Deir al-Zor soon: SDF official . In: US ( reuters.com [accessed August 8, 2018]).
  21. ^ Kurdish forces seize four villages from ISIS, race towards Deir Ezzor city . In: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز . September 9, 2017 ( almasdarnews.com [accessed August 8, 2018]).
  22. ↑ Eric Schmitt and Rod Nordland: "Amid Turkish Assault, Kurdish Forces Are Drawn Away From US Fight With ISIS" NYT, February 28, 2018
  23. ^ Syria, the final SDF offensive against Daesh at Deir Ezzor is launched from 2 axes. Retrieved October 31, 2018 (American English).
  24. ↑ Turkey shells Kurdish-controlled territory in Syria . In: The National . ( thenational.ae [accessed October 31, 2018]).
  25. ↑ Turkey military fires on Tal Abyad in northern Syria, killing at least one HXP member . In: The Defense Post . October 30, 2018 ( thedefensepost.com [accessed October 31, 2018]).
  26. ↑ Reuters Editorial: Turkish attacks in Syria prompt halt to fight against Islamic ... In: US ( reuters.com [accessed October 31, 2018]).
  27. ↑ a b ISIS fighters in Syria aim to reach Europe through Turkey, captured foreign fighter claims . In: The Defense Post . January 10, 2018 ( thedefensepost.com [accessed July 26, 2018]).
  28. ^ Syrian Kurds hand two US citizens over to FBI . In: Kurdistan24 . ( kurdistan24.net [accessed July 26, 2018]).