Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Rêveberiya Xweser a Bakur û Rojhilatê Sûriyeyê (Kurdish) الإدارة الذاتية لشمال وشرق سوريا (Arabic) ܡܕܰܒܪܳܢܘܬ݂ܳܐ ܝܳܬ݂ܰܝܬܳܐ ܠܓܰܪܒܝܳܐ ܘܡܰܕܢܚܳܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܰܐ (Classical Syriac) Kuzey ve Doğu Suriye Özerk Yönetimi (Turkish)
Flag Emblema
Areas under the region's administration
Status	De facto autonomous region of Syria
Capital	Ayn Issa 36°23′7″N 38°51′34″E
Largest city	Raqqa
Official languages	See languages
Government	Libertarian socialist federated semi-direct democracy
• Co-Presidents	Îlham Ehmed Mansur Selum
• Co-Chairs	Amina Omar Riad Darar
Legislature	Syrian Democratic Council
Autonomous region
• Cantons declare autonomy	January 2014
• Cantons declare federation	17 March 2016
• New administration declared	6 September 2018
Area
• Total	50,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi)
Population
• 2018 estimate	≈2,000,000
Currency	Syrian pound (SYP)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
Driving side	right
^ Several symbols have been used to represent the entity in official settings. See Symbols of North and East Syria for more. The region has an official page on Facebook.

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), often referred to as Rojava, is considered a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria, only by some Kurdish sources like Hawar News Agency. It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa, Manbij and Deir Ez-Zor.

The region gained its de facto autonomy in 2012 in the context of the ongoing Rojava conflict and the wider Syrian Civil War, in which its official military force, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has taken part.

While entertaining some foreign relations, the region is not officially recognized as autonomous by the government of Syria or any international state or organization. Northeastern Syria is polyethnic and home to sizeable ethnic Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian populations, with smaller communities of ethnic Turkmen, Armenians and Circassians.

The supporters of the region argue that it is an officially secular polity with direct democratic ambitions based on a libertarian socialist ideology promoting decentralization, gender equality, environmental sustainability and pluralistic tolerance for religious, cultural and political diversity, and that these values are mirrored in its constitution, society, and politics, claiming it to be a model for a federalized Syria as a whole, rather than outright independence. Some of the criticism against the region has included claims of authoritarianism, Kurdification, ban on critical journalists, the promotion of an anti-capitalist ideology, and influence from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (commonly known as PKK).

Polity names and translations

The Tricolor flag of TEV-DEM, adopted circa 2012, commonly used by Kurds in Syria.

Parts of Northern Syria are known as Western Kurdistan (Kurdish: Rojavayê Kurdistanê) or Rojava (/ˌroʊʒəˈvɑː/ ROH-zhə-VAH; Kurdish: [roʒɑˈvɑ] "the West"), one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan, and the territory around Jazira province of northeastern Syria is considered by Syriac-Assyrians as Gozarto (Classical Syriac: ܓܙܪܬܐ, romanized: Gozarto), part of the historical Assyrian homeland.

On 17 March 2016, its de facto administration self-declared the establishment of a federal system of government as the Democratic Federation of Rojava – Northern Syria (Kurdish: Federaliya Demokratîk a Rojava – Bakurê Sûriyê; Arabic: الفدرالية الديمقراطية لروج آفا – شمال سوريا, romanized: al-Fidirāliyya al-Dīmuqrāṭiyya li-Rūj ʾĀvā – Šamāl Suriyā; Classical Syriac: ܦܕܪܐܠܝܘܬ݂ܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܐܛܝܬܐ ܠܓܙܪܬܐ ܒܓܪܒܝܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ, romanized: Federaloyotho Demoqraṭoyto l'Gozarto b'Garbyo d'Suriya; sometimes abbreviated as NSR).

The updated December 2016 constitution of the polity uses the name Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (DFNS) (Kurdish: Federaliya Demokratîk a Bakûrê Sûriyê; Arabic: الفدرالية الديمقراطية لشمال سوريا, romanized: al-Fidirāliyya al-Dīmuqrāṭiyya li-Šamāl Suriyā; Classical Syriac: ܦܕܪܐܠܝܘܬ݂ܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܐܛܝܬܐ ܕܓܪܒܝ ܣܘܪܝܐ, romanized: Federaloyotho Demoqraṭoyto d'Garbay Suriya).

Since 6 September 2018, the Syrian Democratic Council has adopted a new name for the region, naming it the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) (Kurdish: Rêveberiya Xweser a Bakur û Rojhilatê Sûriyeyê; Arabic: الإدارة الذاتية لشمال وشرق سوريا; Classical Syriac: ܡܕܰܒܪܳܢܘܬ݂ܳܐ ܝܳܬ݂ܰܝܬܳܐ ܠܓܰܪܒܝܳܐ ܘܡܰܕܢܚܳܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܰܐ, romanized: Mdabronuṯo Yoṯayto l-Garbyo w-Madnḥyo d-Suriya; Turkish: Kuzey ve Doğu Suriye Özerk Yönetimi) also sometimes translated into English as the "Self-Administration of North and East Syria", encompassing the Euphrates, Afrin, and Jazira regions as well as the local civil councils in the regions of Raqqa, Manbij, Tabqa, and Deir ez-Zor.

The region's administration is sometimes also referred to as the "Democratic Autonomous Administration" (DAA).

Geography

The Khabur river, near Dūr-Katlimmu

Sharat Kovakab, a volcano near the city of Al-Hasakah

The Khabur river, near Tell Halaf, Ras al-Ayn

The Euphrates near Halabiye; the archaeological site Zalabiye can be seen in the background on the left bank.

The region lies to the west of the Tigris along the Turkish border and borders Iraqi Kurdistan to the southeast. The region is at latitude approximately 36°30' north and mostly consists of plains and low hills, however there are some mountains in the region such as Mount Abdulaziz as well as the western part of the Sinjar Mountain Range in the Jazira Region.

In terms of governorates of Syria, the region is formed from parts of the al-Hasakah, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and the Aleppo governorates.

Historical background

Main articles: Afrin Region, Jazira Region, and Euphrates Region

See also: History of Syria, Ottoman Syria, Modern history of Syria, Kurds in Syria, and Syrian-Assyrians

Having been part of the Fertile Crescent, Northern Syria has several Neolithic sites such as Tell Halaf.

Ruins of the "Red House" of Dūr-Katlimmu exposed by excavations (6th century AD)

Northern Syria is part of the Fertile Crescent, and includes archaeological sites dating to the Neolithic, such as Tell Halaf. In antiquity, the area was part of the Mitanni kingdom, its centre being the Khabur river valley in modern-day Jazira Region. It was then part of Assyria, with the last surviving Assyrian imperial records, from between 604 BC and 599 BC, were found in and around the Assyrian city of Dūr-Katlimmu. Later it was ruled by different dynasties and empires - the Achaemenids of Iran, the Hellenes who succeeded Alexander the Great, the Artaxiads of Armenia, Rome, the Iranian Parthians and Sasanians, then by the Byzantines and successive Arab Islamic caliphates.

Kurdish settlement in Syria goes back to before the Crusades of the 11th century. A number of Kurdish military and feudal settlements from before this period have been found in Syria. Such settlements have been found in the Alawite and north Lebanese mountains and around Hama and its surroundings. The Crusade fortress of Krak des Chevaliers, which is known in Arabic as Hisn al-Akrad (Castle of the Kurds), was originally a Kurdish military settlement before it was enlarged by the French Crusaders. Similarly, the Kurd-Dagh (Kurdish Mount) has been inhabited by Kurds for more than a millennium.

During the Ottoman Empire (1516–1922), large Kurdish-speaking tribal groups both settled in and were deported to areas of northern Syria from Anatolia. The demographics of this area underwent a huge shift in the early part of the 20th century. Some Circassian, Kurdish and Chechen tribes cooperated with the Ottoman (Turkish) authorities in the massacres of Armenian and Assyrian Christians in Upper Mesopotamia, between 1914 and 1920, with further attacks on unarmed fleeing civilians conducted by local Arab militias. Many Assyrians fled to Syria during the genocide and settled mainly in the Jazira area. Starting in 1926, the region saw another immigration of Kurds following the failure of the Sheikh Said rebellion against the Turkish authorities. While many of the Kurds in Syria have been there for centuries, waves of Kurds fled their homes in Turkey and settled in Syria, where they were granted citizenship by the French Mandate authorities. In the 1930s and 1940s, the region saw several failed autonomy movements.

Rule from Damascus

See also: Modern history of Syria and Human rights in North and East Syria

Under Syrian rule, policies of Arab nationalism and attempts at forced Arabization have been widespread in Northern Syria, to a large part directed against the Kurdish population. The region received little investment or development from the central government and laws discriminated against Kurds owning property, driving cars, working in certain professions and forming political parties. Property was routinely confiscated by government loansharks. Kurdish language education was forbidden, compromising Kurdish students' education. Hospitals lacked equipment for advanced treatment and instead patients had to be transferred outside the region. Numerous place names were arabized in the 1960s and 1970s. In his report for the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council titled Persecution and Discrimination against Kurdish Citizens in Syria, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights held that "Successive Syrian governments continued to adopt a policy of ethnic discrimination and national persecution against Kurds, completely depriving them of their national, democratic and human rights – an integral part of human existence. The government imposed ethnically-based programs, regulations and exclusionary measures on various aspects of Kurds’ lives – political, economic, social and cultural."

In many instances, the Syrian government arbitrarily deprived ethnic Kurdish citizens of their citizenship. The largest such instance was a consequence of a census in 1962, which was conducted for exactly this purpose. 120,000 ethnic Kurdish citizens saw their citizenship arbitrarily taken away and became stateless. Kurdish private schools were banned. This status was passed to the children of a "stateless" Kurdish father. In 2010, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimated the number of such "stateless" Kurdish people in Syria at 300,000.

In 1973, the Syrian authorities confiscated 750 square kilometres (290 square miles) of fertile agricultural land in Al-Hasakah Governorate, which was owned and cultivated by tens of thousands of Kurdish citizens, and gave it to Arab families brought in from other provinces. In 2007, in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, 600 square kilometres (230 square miles) around Al-Malikiyah were granted to Arab families, while tens of thousands of Kurdish inhabitants of the villages concerned were evicted. These and other expropriations was part of the so-called "Arab Belt initiative" which aimed to change the demographic fabric of the resource-rich region.

An appearance of autonomy

Main articles: Rojava conflict, NES–Syria relations, Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present), and 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria

See also: Afrin Region, Jazira Region, Euphrates Region, Human rights in North and East Syria, and Federalization of Syria

Map of the territory of the region over time

Map of the expanded territory controlled by the region in February 2014, June 2015, and October 2016

In 2012, in the early stages of the Syrian Civil War, Syrian government forces withdrew from three mainly Kurdish areas, leaving control to local militias, in a succesful attempt to keep the Kurds out of that civil uprising and civil war.

Existing underground Kurdish political parties, namely the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdish National Council (KNC), joined to form the Kurdish Supreme Committee (KSC) and the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia was established to defend Kurdish-inhabited areas in northern Syria. In July 2012, the YPG established control in the towns of Kobanî, Amuda and Afrin, and the Kurdish Supreme Committee established a joint leadership council to administer the towns. Soon YPG also gained control of the cities of Al-Malikiyah, Ras al-Ayn, al-Darbasiyah, and al-Muabbada and parts of Hasakah and Qamishli. Thus, the Kurdish dominated militia People's Protection Units (YPG) had gained the upper hand in the region over other Kurdish militias.

The Kurdish Supreme Committee was dissolved in 2013, when the PYD abandoned the coalition with the KNC and established the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) coalition. In January 2014, three areas under TEV-DEM rule declared their autonomy as cantons (Now Afrin Region, Jazira Region and Euphrates Region) and an interim constitution was approved. From September 2014 to spring 2015, the YPG forces in Kobanî Canton, supported by some secular Free Syrian Army militias and leftist international and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) volunteers, fought and finally repelled an assault by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the Siege of Kobanî, and in the YPG's Tell Abyad offensive of summer of 2015, the regions of Jazira and Kobanî were connected.

Military situation in December 2015

After the YPG victory over ISIL in Kobanî in March 2015, an alliance between YPG and the United States was formed, which greatly worried Turkey, because Turkey considered the YPG as clones of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which Turkey (and the U.S. and the E.U.) consider terrorists. In December 2015, the Syrian Democratic Council was created. On 17 March 2016, at a TEV-DEM-organized conference in Rmelan the establishment the Democratic Federation of Rojava – Northern Syria was declared in the areas they controlled in Northern Syria. The declaration was quickly denounced by both the Syrian government and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.

In March 2016, Hediya Yousef and Mansur Selum were elected co-chairpersons for the executive committee to organise a constitution for the region, to replace the 2014 constitution. Yousef said the decision to set up a federal government was in large part driven by the expansion of territories captured from Islamic State: "Now, after the liberation of many areas, it requires us to go to a wider and more comprehensive system that can embrace all the developments in the area, that will also give rights to all the groups to represent themselves and to form their own administrations." In July 2016, a draft for the new constitution was presented, based on the principles of the 2014 constitution, mentioning all ethnic groups living in Northern Syria and addressing their cultural, political and linguistic rights. The main political opposition to the constitution have been Kurdish nationalists, in particular the KNC, who have different ideological aspirations than the TEV-DEM coalition. On 28 December 2016, after a meeting of the 151-member Syrian Democratic Council in Rmelan, a new constitution was resolved; despite objections by 12 Kurdish parties, the region was renamed the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, removing the name "Rojava".

Because of the vehement Turkish scorn since 2015 against the presence and growing power of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG)—whom they consider terrorists, see above—along the Turkish border, as soon as the US troops withdrew from the Rojava region in October 2019, Turkey invaded it (see 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria).

Politics

Further information: Constitution of North and East Syria

See also: List of political parties in North and East Syria, Abdullah Öcalan § Democratic confederalism, and Jineology

The Regions of North and East Syria since September 2018.

The political system of the region is based on its adopted constitution, officially titled "Charter of the Social Contract". The constitution was ratified on 9 January 2014; it provides that all residents of the region shall enjoy fundamental rights such as gender equality and freedom of religion. It also provides for property rights. The region's system of community government has direct democratic aspirations.

A September 2015 report in The New York Times observed:

"For a former diplomat like me, I found it confusing: I kept looking for a hierarchy, the singular leader, or signs of a government line, when, in fact, there was none; there were just groups. There was none of that stifling obedience to the party, or the obsequious deference to the "big man"—a form of government all too evident just across the borders, in Turkey to the north, and the Kurdish regional government of Iraq to the south. The confident assertiveness of young people was striking.

However, a 2016 paper from Chatham House stated that power is heavily centralized in the hands of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). Abdullah Öcalan, a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader imprisoned in İmralı, Turkey, has become an iconic figure in the region whose libertarian socialist ideology has shaped the region's society and politics through the ruling TEV-DEM coalition, led by the PYD which succeeded the Kurdish Supreme Committee that was established by the PYD and the Kurdish National Council (KNC) as the governing body between 2012–2013.

The politics of the region has been described as having "libertarian transnational aspirations" influenced by the PKK's shift toward anarchism, but also includes various "tribal, ethno-sectarian, capitalist and patriarchal structures." The region has a "co-governance" policy in which each position at each level of government in the region includes a "female equivalent of equal authority" to a male. Similarly, there are aspirations for equal political representation of all ethno-religious components – Arabs, Kurds and Assyrians being the most sizeable ones. Some have compared this to the Lebanese confessionalist system, which is based on that country's major religions.

SDF rule has triggered protests in some areas of northeastern Syria. In the spring of 2019, residents of tens of villages in the eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate demonstrated against SDF rule. It has been claimed that the new political structures created in the region have been based on top-down structures, which have placed obstacles for the return of refugees, created dissent as well as a lack of trust between the SDF and the local population.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Regions of North and East Syria

Article 8 of the 2014 constitution stipulates that "All Cantons in the autonomous regions are founded on the principle of local self-government. Cantons may freely elect their representatives and representative bodies, and may pursue their rights insofar as it does not contravene the articles of the Charter."

The cantons were later reorganized into regions with subordinate cantons/provinces, areas, districts and communes. The first communal elections in the region were held on 22 September 2017. 12,421 candidates competed for around 3,700 communal positions during the elections, which were organized by the region's High Electoral Commission. Elections for the councils of the Jazira Region, Euphrates Region and Afrin Region were held in December 2017.

On 6 September 2018, during a meeting of the Syrian Democratic Council in Ayn Issa, a new name for the region was adopted, the "Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria", encompassing the Euphrates, Afrin, and Jazira regions as well as the local civil councils in the regions of Raqqa, Manbij, Tabqa, and Deir ez-Zor. During the meeting, a 70-member "General Council for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria" was formed.

Regions		Official name (languages)	Prime Ministers	Deputy Prime Ministers
	Jazira Region	إقليم الجزيرة (Arabic) Herêma Cizîrê (Kurdish) ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܓܙܪܬܐ (Classical Syriac)	Akram Hesso	Elizabeth Gawrie Hussein Taza Al Azam
	Euphrates Region	إقليم الفرات (Arabic) Herêma Firatê (Kurdish) ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܦܪܬ (Classical Syriac)	Enver Muslim	Bêrîvan Hesen Xalid Birgil
	Afrin Region	إقليم عفرين (Arabic) Herêma Efrînê (Kurdish) ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܥܦܪܝܢ (Classical Syriac)	Hêvî Îbrahîm	Remzi Şêxmus Ebdil Hemid Mistefa
	Raqqa Region	إقليم الرقة (Arabic) Herêma Reqayê (Kurdish) ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܪܩܗ (Classical Syriac)	N/A	N/A
	Tabqa Region	إقليم الطبقة (Arabic) Herêma Tebqayê (Kurdish) ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܛܒܩܗ (Classical Syriac)	N/A	N/A
	Manbij Region	إقليم منبج (Arabic) Herêma Minbicê (Kurdish) ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܡܒܘܓ (Classical Syriac)	N/A	N/A
	Deir ez-Zor Region	إقليم دير الزور (Arabic) Herêma Dêra Zorê (Kurdish) ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܕܝܪ ܐܠ ܙܘܪ (Classical Syriac)	N/A	N/A

Legislature

Main articles: Syrian Democratic Council and Executive Council (North and East Syria)

Seal of the Syrian Democratic Council

In December 2015, during a meeting of the region's representatives in Al-Malikiyah, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) was established to serve as the political representative of the Syrian Democratic Forces. The co-leaders selected to lead the SDC at its founding were prominent human rights activist Haytham Manna and TEV-DEM Executive Board member Îlham Ehmed. The SDC appoints an Executive Council which deal with the economy, agriculture, natural resources, and foreign affairs. General elections were planned for 2014 and 2018, but this was postponed due to fighting.

Education, media, and culture

School

See also: Education in Syria and Human rights in North and East Syria § Ethnic minority rights

Under the rule of the Ba'ath Party, school education consisted of only Arabic language public schools, supplemented by Assyrian private confessional schools. In 2015, the region's administration introduced primary education in the native language (either Kurdish or Arabic) and mandatory bilingual education (Kurdish and Arabic) for public schools, with English as a mandatory third language. There are ongoing disagreements and negotiations over curriculums with the Syrian central government, which generally still pays the teachers in public schools.

In August 2016, the Ourhi Centre was founded by the Assyrian community in the city of Qamishli, to educate teachers in order to make Syriac-Aramaic an additional language in public schools in Jazira Region, which then started in the 2016/17 academic year. According to the region's Education Committee, in 2016/2017 "three curriculums have replaced the old one, to include teaching in three languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac." In August 2017 Galenos Yousef Issa of the Ourhi Centre announced that the Syriac curriculum would be expanded to grade 6, which earlier had been limited to grade 3, with teachers being assigned to Syriac schools in Al-Hasakah, Al-Qahtaniyah and Al-Malikiyah. At the start of the academic year 2018–2019, the curricula in Kurdish and Arabic had been expanded to grades 1–12 and Syriac to grades 1–9. "Jineology" classes had also been introduced.

The federal, regional and local administrations in the region put much emphasis on promoting libraries and educational centers, to facilitate learning and social and artistic activities. Examples are the Nahawand Center for Developing Children’s Talents in Amuda (est. 2015) and the Rodî û Perwîn Library in Kobani (May 2016).

For Assyrian private confessional schools there had at first been no changes. However, in August 2018 it was reported that the region's authorities was trying to implement its own Syriac curriculum in private Christian schools that have been continuing to use an Arabic curriculum with limited Syriac classes approved by the Assad regime and originally developed by Syrian Education Ministry in cooperation with Christian clergy in the 1950s. The threatening of the closure of schools not complying with this resulted in protests erupting in Qamishli. A deal was later reached in September 2018 between the region's authorities and the local Syriac Orthodox archbishopric, where the two first grades in these schools would learn the region's Syriac curriculum and grades three to six would continue to learn the Damascus approved curriculum.

Higher education

See also: Education in Syria

While there was no institution of tertiary education on the territory of the region at the onset of the Syrian Civil War, an increasing number of such institutions have been established by the regional administrations in the region since.

• In September 2014, the Mesopotamian Social Sciences Academy in Qamishli started classes. More such academies designed under a libertarian socialist academic philosophy and concept are in the process of founding or planning.
• In August 2015, the traditionally-designed University of Afrin in Afrin started teaching, with initial programs in literature, engineering and economics, including institutes for medicine, topographic engineering, music and theater, business administration and the Kurdish language.
• In July 2016, Jazira Canton Board of Education started the University of Rojava in Qamishli, with faculties for Medicine, Engineering, Sciences, and Arts and Humanities. Programs taught include health, oil, computer and agricultural engineering; physics, chemistry, history, psychology, geography, mathematics and primary school teaching and Kurdish literature. Its language of instruction is Kurdish, and with an agreement with Paris 8 University in France for cooperation, the university opened registration for students in the academic year 2016–2017.
• In August 2016 Jazira Canton police forces took control of the remaining parts of Hasakah city, which included the Hasakah campus of the Arabic-language Al-Furat University, and with mutual agreement the institution continues to be operated under the authority of the Damascus government's Ministry of Higher Education.

Media

See also: Media of Syria

Incorporating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as other internationally recognized human rights conventions, the 2014 Constitution of North and East Syria guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press. As a result, a diverse media landscape has developed in the region, in each of the Kurdish, Arabic, Syriac-Aramaic and Turkish languages of the land, as well as in English, and media outlets frequently use more than one language. Among the most prominent media in the region are Hawar News Agency and ARA News agencies and websites as well as TV outlets Rojava Kurdistan TV, Ronahî TV, and the bimonthly magazine Nudem. A landscape of local newspapers and radio stations has developed. However, media agencies often face economic pressure, as was demonstrated by the closure of news website Welati in May 2016. Political extremism in the context of the Syrian Civil War can put media outlets under pressure; for example in April 2016 the premises of Arta FM ("the first, and only, independent radio station staffed and broadcast by Syrians inside Syria") in Amuda was threatened and burned down by unidentified assailants. During the Turkish military operation in Afrin, the KDP-affiliated Iraqi Kurdish Rudaw Media Network was also banned from reporting in the region. On 2 September 2019, the Iraqi Kurdistan-based and KDP-affiliated Kurdistan 24 network was banned and had its offices seized by Rojava authorities, over an alleged insult made by the network against Kurdistan Communities Union co-chair Bese Kozat.

International media and journalists operate with few restrictions in the region, one of the only regions in Syria where they can operate with some degree of freedom. This has led to several international media reports regarding the region, including major TV documentaries like BBC documentary (2014): Rojava: Syria's Secret Revolution or Sky1 documentary (2016): Rojava – The Fight Against ISIS.

Internet connections in the region are often slow due to inadequate infrastructure. Internet lines are operated by Syrian Telecom, which as of January 2017 is working on a major extension of the fibre optic cable network in southern Jazira Region.

The arts

After the establishment of the de facto autonomous region, the Center of Art and Democratic Culture, located in Jazira Region, has become a venue for aspiring artists who showcase their work. Among major cultural events in the region is the annual Festival of Theater in March/April as well as the Rojava Short Story Festival in June, both in the city of Qamishli, and the Afrin Short Film Festival in April.

Economy

See also: Economy of Syria, Afrin Region § Economy, Jazira Region § Economy, and Euphrates Region § Economy

The Jazira Region is a major wheat and cotton producer and has a considerable oil industry. The Euphrates Region suffered most destruction of the three regions and has huge challenges in reconstruction, and has recently seen some greenhouse agriculture construction. The Afrin Region has had a traditional specialization on olive oil including Aleppo soap made from it, and had drawn much industrial production from the nearby city of Aleppo due to the fighting in Aleppo city from 2012-2016. Price controls are managed by local committees, which can set the price of basic goods such as food and medical goods.

It has been theorized that the Assad government had deliberately underdeveloped parts of Northern Syria for the purposes of Arabization of the region as well as making secession attempts less likely. During the Syrian Civil War, the infrastructure of the region has on average experienced less destruction than other parts of Syria. In May 2016, Ahmed Yousef, head of the Economic Body and chairman of Afrin University, claimed that at the time, the economic output of the region (including agriculture, industry and oil) accounted for about 55% of Syria's gross domestic product. In 2014, the Syrian government was still paying some state employees, but fewer than before. The administration of the region has however stated that "none of our projects are financed by the regime".

There were at first no direct or indirect taxes on people or businesses in the region; the administration raised money mainly through tariffs and selling oil and other natural resources. However in July 2017, it was reported that the administration in the Jazira Region had started to collect income tax to provide for public services in the region. In May 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that traders in Syria experience the region as "the one place where they aren't forced to pay bribes."

The main sources of revenue for the autonomous region have been presented as: 1. Income from public properties such as grain silos as well as from oil and gas in the Jazira Region, 2. Income from local taxation and customs fees taken at the border crossings, 3. Income from service delivery, 4. Finances sent from expats in Iraq and Turkey and 5. Local donations. In 2015 the autonomous administration of the region shared information regarding the region's finances in which the total amount of revenue for the year of 2014 for the autonomous administration was about 3 billion Syrian Pounds (≈5.8 million USD) from which 50% was spent on "self-defense and protection", 18% for the Jazira Canton (now Jazira Region), 8.5% for the Kobani Canton (now Euphrates Region), 8.5% for the Afrin Canton (now Afrin Region), 15% for the "Internal Committee" and any remainder as a reserve for use in the following year.

External economic relations

See also: Foreign relations of North and East Syria

Oil and food production is substantial, so they are important exports. Agricultural products include sheep, grain and cotton. Important imports are consumer goods and auto parts. Trade with Turkey and access to humanitarian and military aid is difficult due to a blockade by Turkey. Turkey does not allow businesspeople or goods to cross its border. The blockade from adjacent territories held by Turkey and ISIL, and partially also the KRG, temporarily caused heavy distortions of relative prices in Jazira Region and Euphrates Region (while separate, Afrin Region borders government-controlled territory since February 2016); for example in Jazira Region and Euphrates Region, through 2016 petrol cost only half as much as bottled water.

The Semalka Border Crossing with Iraqi Kurdistan had been intermittently closed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), but has been open permanently since June 2016, and along with the establishment of a corridor to Syrian government controlled territory in April 2017, economic exchange has increasingly normalized. Further, in May 2017 in northern Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Forces fighting ISIL cleared a corridor connecting the autonomous region and Iraqi government-controlled territory.

Economy policy framework

See also: Collective farming

The autonomous administration is supporting efforts for workers to form cooperatives, such as this sewing cooperative in Derik.

The autonomous region is ruled by a coalition which bases its policy ambitions to a large extent on the libertarian socialist ideology of Abdullah Öcalan and have been described as pursuing a model of economy that blends co-operative and private enterprise. In 2012, the PYD launched what it called the "Social Economy Plan", later renamed the "People's Economy Plan" (PEP). Private property and entrepreneurship are protected under the principle of "ownership by use". Dr. Dara Kurdaxi, a regional official, has stated: "The method in Rojava is not so much against private property, but rather has the goal of putting private property in the service of all the peoples who live in Rojava." Communes and co-operatives have been established to provide essentials. Co-operatives account for a large proportion of agricultural production and are active in construction, factories, energy production, livestock, pistachio and roasted seeds, and public markets. Several hundred instances of collective farming have occurred across towns and villages in the region, with communes consisting of approximately 20–35 people. According to the region's "Ministry of Economics", approximately three quarters of all property has been placed under community ownership and a third of production has been transferred to direct management by workers' councils.

Law and security

See also: Constitution of North and East Syria and Human rights in North and East Syria

SDF-controlled territory (green) and Turkish-occupied territory (red) in October 2019

Legal system

Syrian civil laws are valid in the region if they do not conflict with the Constitution of the autonomous region. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, which in Syria is based on Sharia and applied by Sharia Courts, while the secular autonomous region proclaims absolute equality of women under the law, allowing civil marriage and banning forced marriage, polygamy and underage marriage.

A new criminal justice approach was implemented that emphasizes restoration over retribution. The death penalty was abolished. Prisons house mostly people charged with terrorist activity related to ISIL and other extremist groups. A September 2015 report of Amnesty International noted that 400 people were incarcerated by the region's authorities and criticized deficiencies in due process of the judicial system of the region.

The justice system in the region is influenced by Abdullah Öcalan's libertarian socialist ideology. At the local level, citizens create Peace and Consensus Committees, which make group decisions on minor criminal cases and disputes as well as in separate committees resolve issues of specific concern to women's rights like domestic violence and marriage. At the regional level, citizens (who need not be trained jurists) are elected by the regional People's Councils to serve on seven-member People's Courts. At the next level are four Appeals Courts, composed of trained jurists. The court of last resort is the Regional Court, which serves the region as a whole. Separate from this system, the Constitutional Court renders decisions on compatibility of acts of government and legal proceedings with the constitution of the region (called the Social Contract).

Policing and security

Main articles: Asayish (NES regions), Sutoro, Self-Defense Forces (NES regions), and Raqqa Internal Security Forces

See also: Syrian Democratic Forces

Members of the Raqqa Internal Security Forces (RISF) in Ayn Issa.

Policing in the region is performed by the Asayish armed formation. Asayish was established on 25 July 2013 to fill the gap of security when the Syrian security forces withdrew. Under the Constitution of North and East Syria, policing is a competence of the regions. The Asayish forces of the regions are composed of 26 official bureaus that aim to provide security and solutions to social problems. The six main units of Asayish are Checkpoints Administration, Anti-Terror Forces Command (HAT), Intelligence Directorate, Organized Crime Directorate, Traffic Directorate and Treasury Directorate. 218 Asayish centers were established and 385 checkpoints with 10 Asayish members in each checkpoint were set up. 105 Asayish offices provide security against ISIL on the frontlines across Northern Syria. Larger cities have general directorates responsible for all aspects of security including road controls. Each region has a HAT command, and each Asayish center organizes itself autonomously.

Throughout the region, the municipal Civilian Defense Forces (HPC) and the regional Self-Defense Forces (HXP) also serve local-level security. In Jazira Region, the Asayish are further complemented by the Assyrian Sutoro police force, which is organized in every area with Assyrian population, provides security and solutions to social problems in collaboration with other Asayish units. The Khabour Guards and Nattoreh, though not police units, also have a presence in the area, providing security in towns along the Khabur River. The Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces also maintain a police branch. In the areas taken from ISIL during the Raqqa campaign, the Raqqa Internal Security Forces and Manbij Internal Security Forces operate as police forces. Deir ez-Zor also maintain an Internal Security Forces unit.

Northern Syria Internal Security Forces is an umbrella terms for internal security forces (minus Sutoro and the police branch of Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces)

Militias

Main articles: Syrian Democratic Forces and Self-Defense Forces (NES regions)

See also: Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present)

Female fighters of the YPJ play a significant combat role in the region.

HXP militiamen on parade in 2016.

The main military force of the region is the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Syrian rebel groups formed in 2015. The SDF is led by the Kurdish majority People's Protection Units (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel, YPG). The YPG was founded by the PYD after the 2004 Qamishli clashes, but was first active in the Syrian Civil War. There is also the Syriac Military Council (MFS), an Assyrian militia associated with the Syriac Union Party. There are also Free Syrian Army groups in the alliance such as Jaysh al-Thuwar and the Northern Democratic Brigade, tribal militias like the Arab Al-Sanadid Forces, and municipal military councils in the Shahba region, like the Manbij Military Council, the Al-Bab Military Council or the Jarablus Military Council.

The Self-Defence Forces (HXP) is a territorial defense militia and the only conscript armed force in the region. HXP is locally recruited to garrison their municipal area and is under the responsibility and command of the respective regions of the NES. Occasionally, HXP units have supported the YPG, and SDF in general, during combat operations against ISIL outside their own municipality and region.

Human rights

Main article: Human rights in North and East Syria

In the course of the Syrian Civil War, militias associated with the autonomous region have been accused of war crimes, in particular members of the People's Protection Units (YPG), including 2014 and 2015 reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, both of which operate freely in the region. The claims from 2014 include claims of arbitrary arrests and torture, other claims include the use of child soldiers. In October 2015 the YPG demobilized 21 minors from the military service in its ranks. Accusations have been comprehensively debated and contested by both the YPG and other human rights organizations. YPG members since September 2015 receive human rights training from Geneva Call and other international organizations.

The region's civil government has been hailed in international media for human rights advancement in particular in the legal system, concerning women's rights, ethnic minority rights, freedom of Speech and Press and for hosting inbound refugees. The political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society. Enforcing conscription into the Self-Defence Forces (HXP) has been called a human rights violation from the perspective of those who consider the region's institutions as illegitimate.

Some persistent issues under the region's administration concern ethnic minority rights. One issue of contention is the consequence of the Baathist Syrian government's settling of Arab tribal settlers, expropriated for the purpose from its previous Kurdish owners in 1973 and 2007, There have been calls to expel the settlers and return the land to their previous owners, which has led the political leadership of the region to press the Syrian government for a comprehensive solution.

During the ongoing Syrian Civil War, organizations such as Amnesty International and the Middle East Observer have accused SDF forces of forcibly displacing inhabitants of captured areas with predominantely Arab population such as Tel Abyad. Contrasting with these claims, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has rebutted claims of ethnic cleansing in Tel Abyad against the Turkmen and Arabic population and the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry also released a report that stated that the commission did not find evidence of YPG or SDF forces committing ethnic cleansing in order to change the demographic composition of territories under their control.

Demographics

See also: Demographics of Syria

The demographics of the region have historically been highly diverse. One major shift in modern times was in the early part of the 20th century due to the Assyrian and Armenian Genocides, when many Assyrians and Armenians fled to Syria from Turkey. This was followed by many Kurds fleeing Turkey in the aftermath of Sheikh Said rebellion. Another major shift in modern times was the Baath policy of settling additional Arab population in Northern Syria. Most recently, during the Syrian Civil War, many refugees have fled to the north of the country. Some ethnic Arab citizens from Iraq have fled to Northern Syria as well. However, as of January 2018, only two million people are estimated to remain in the area under the region's administration with estimates of around half a million people emigrating since the beginning of the civil war, to a large degree because of the economic hardships the region has faced during the war.

Ethnic groups

Further information: Kurds in Syria, Syrians, Syrian-Assyrians, Syrian Turkmen, and Yazidis in Syria

Two ethnic groups have a significant presence throughout Northern Syria:

• Kurds are an ethnic group living in northeastern and northwestern Syria, culturally and linguistically classified among the Iranian peoples. Many Kurds consider themselves descended from the ancient Iranian people of the Medes, using a calendar dating from 612 B.C., when the Assyrian capital of Nineveh was conquered by the Medes. Kurds formed 55% of the 2010 population of what now is both Jazira Region and Euphrates Region. During the Syrian civil war, many Kurds who had lived elsewhere in Syria fled back to their traditional lands in Northern Syria.
• Arabs are an ethnic group or ethnolinguistic group living throughout Northern Syria, mainly defined by Arabic as their first language. They encompass Bedouin tribes who trace their ancestry to the Arabian Peninsula as well as arabized indigenous peoples and preexisting Arab groups. Arabs form the majority or plurality in some parts of Northern Syria, in particular in the southern parts of the Jazira Region, in Tell Abyad District and in Azaz District. While in Shahba region the term Arab is mainly used to denote arabized Kurds and arabized Syrians, in Euphrates Region and in Jazira Region it mainly denotes ethnic Arab Bedouin populations.

Two ethnic groups have a significant presence in certain regions of Northern Syria:

The streets of Qamishli during Christmas

• Assyrians are an ethnic group. Their presence in Syria is in the Jazira Region of the autonomous region, particularly in the urban areas (Qamishli, al-Hasakah, Ras al-Ayn, Al-Malikiyah, Al-Qahtaniyah), in the northeastern corner and in villages along the Khabur River in the Tell Tamer area. They traditionally speak varieties of Syriac-Aramaic, a Semitic language. There are many Assyrians among recent refugees to Northern Syria, fleeing Islamist violence elsewhere in Syria back to their traditional lands. In the secular polyethnic political climate of the region, the Dawronoye modernization movement has a growing influence on Assyrian identity in the 21st century.
• Turkmen are an ethnic group with a major presence in the area between Afrin Region and Euphrates Region, where they form regional majorities in the countryside from Azaz and Mare' to Jarabulus, and a minor presence in Afrin Region and Euphrates Region.

There are also smaller minorities of Armenians throughout Northern Syria as well as Chechens in Ras al-Ayn.

Languages

Sunset over the rooftops in Raqqa

Regarding the status of different languages in the autonomous region, its "Social Contract" stipulates that "all languages in Northern Syria are equal in all areas of life, including social, educational, cultural, and administrative dealings. Every people shall organize its life and manage its affairs using its mother tongue." In practice, Arabic and Kurmanji are predominantly used across all areas and for most official documents, with Syriac being mainly used in the Jazira Region with some usage across all areas while Turkish and Circassian are also used in the region of Manbij.

The four main languages spoken in Northern Syria are the following, and are from three different language families:

• Kurdish (in Northern Kurdish dialect), a Northwestern Iranian language from the Indo-European language family.
• Arabic (in North Mesopotamian Arabic dialect, in writing Modern Standard Arabic), a Central Semitic language from the Semitic language family
• Syriac-Aramaic mainly in the Surayt/Turoyo and Assyrian Neo-Aramaic varieties (mainly Classical Syriac in writing), Northwest Semitic languages from the Semitic language family.
• Turkish (in Syrian Turkmen dialect), from the Turkic language family.

For these four languages, three different scripts are in use in Northern Syria:

• The Latin alphabet for Kurdish and Turkish
• The Arabic alphabet (abjad) for Arabic
• The Syriac alphabet for Syriac-Aramaic

Religion

Church in Ras al-Ayn

Most ethnic Kurdish and Arab people in Northern Syria adhere to Sunni Islam, while ethnic Assyrian people generally are Syriac Orthodox, Chaldean Catholic, Syriac Catholic or adherents of the Assyrian Church of the East. There are also adherents to other religions, such as Yazidism. The dominant PYD party and the political administration in the region are decidedly secular and laicist.

Population centres

Assyrian cathedral in Al-Hasakah

File:Square in Manbij.jpg

Square in Manbij

This list includes all cities and towns in the region with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The population figures are given according to the 2004 Syrian census. Cities highlighted in light grey are partially controlled by the Damascus government.

English Name	Kurdish Name	Arabic Name	Syriac Name	Turkish Name	Population	Region
Raqqa	Reqa	الرقة	ܪܩܗ	Rakka	220,488	Raqqa
Al-Hasakah	Hesîçe	الحسكة	ܚܣܟܗ	Haseke	188,160	Jazira
Qamishli	Qamişlo	القامشلي	ܩܡܫܠܐ	Kamışlı	184,231	Jazira
Manbij	Menbîç	منبج	ܡܒܘܓ	Münbiç	99,497	Manbij
Tabqa	Tebqa	الطبقة	ܛܒܩܗ	Tabka	69,425	Tabqa
Kobani	Kobanî	عين العرب	ܟܘܒܐܢܝ	Arappınar	44,821	Euphrates
Hajin		هجين‎	ܗܓܝܢ		37,935	Deir Ez-Zor
Ras al-Ayn	Serêkaniyê	رأس العين	ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ	Resülayn	29,347	Jazira
Amuda	Amûdê	عامودا	ܥܐܡܘܕܐ	Amudiye	26,821	Jazira
Al-Malikiyah	Dêrika Hemko	المالكية	ܕܪܝܟ	Deyrik	26,311	Jazira
Gharanij		غرانيج	ܓܪܐܢܝܓ		23,009	Deir Ez-Zor
Abu Hamam		أبو حمام‎	ܐܒܘ ܚܡܐܡ		21,947	Deir Ez-Zor
Tell Rifaat	Arfêd	تل رفعت	ܬܠ ܪܦܥܬ	Tel Rıfat	20,514	Afrin
Al-Shaafah		الشعفة	ܫܥܦܗ		18,956	Deir Ez-Zor
Al-Qahtaniyah	Tirbespî	القحطانية	ܩܒܪ̈ܐ ܚܘܪ̈ܐ	Kubur el Bid	16,946	Jazira
Al-Mansurah		المنصورة‎	ܡܢܨܘܪܗ		16,158	Tabqa
Al-Shaddadah	Şeddadê	الشدادي	ܫܕܐܕܝ	Şaddadi	15,806	Jazira
Al-Muabbada	Girkê Legê	المعبدة	ܡܥܒܕܗ	Muabbada	15,759	Jazira
Al-Kishkiyah		الكشكية	ܟܫܟܝܗ		14,979	Deir Ez-Zor
Al-Sabaa wa Arbain	Seba û Erbîyn	السبعة وأربعين	ܣܒܥܗ ܘܐܪܒܥܝܢ	El Seba ve Arbayn	14,177	Jazira
Al-Manajir	Menacîr	المناجير	ܡܢܐܓܝܪ	Menacir	12,156	Jazira
Rmelan	Rimêlan	رميلان	ܪܡܝܠܐܢ	Rimelan	11,500	Jazira
Al-Baghuz Fawqani		الباغوز فوقاني‎	ܒܐܓܘܙ ܦܘܩܐܢܝ		10,649	Deir Ez-Zor

External relations

Relations with the Syrian government

Main article: NES–Syria relations

See also: Federalization of Syria

Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces

Currently, the relations of the region to the Damascus government are determined by the context of the Syrian civil war. The Constitution of Syria and the Constitution of North and East Syria are legally incompatible with respect to legislative and executive authority. In the military realm, combat between the People's Protection Units (YPG) and Syrian government forces has been rare, in the most notable instances some of the territory still controlled by the Syrian government in Qamishli and al-Hasakah has been lost to the YPG. In some military campaigns, in particular in northern Aleppo governate and in al-Hasakah, YPG and Syrian government forces have tacitly cooperated against Islamist forces, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and others.

The region does not claim to pursue full independence but rather autonomy within a federal and democratic Syria. In July 2016, Constituent Assembly co-chair Hediya Yousef formulated the region's approach towards Syria as follows:

We believe that a federal system is ideal form of governance for Syria. We see that in many parts of the world, a federal framework enables people to live peacefully and freely within territorial borders. The people of Syria can also live freely in Syria. We will not allow for Syria to be divided; all we want is the democratization of Syria; its citizens must live in peace, and enjoy and cherish the ethnic diversity of the national groups inhabiting the country.

In March 2015, the Syrian Information Minister announced that his government considered recognizing the Kurdish autonomy "within the law and constitution". While the region's administration is not invited to the Geneva III peace talks on Syria, or any of the earlier talks, Russia in particular calls for the region's inclusion and does to some degree carry the region's positions into the talks, as documented in Russia's May 2016 draft for a new constitution for Syria. In October 2016, there were reports of a Russian initiative for federalization with a focus on northern Syria, which at its core called to turn the existing institutions of the region into legitimate institutions of Syria; also reported was its rejection for the time being by the Syrian government. The Damascus ruling elite is split over the question whether the new model in the region can work in parallel and converge with the Syrian government, for the benefit of both, or if the agenda should be to centralize again all power at the end of the civil war, necessitating preparation for ultimate confrontation with the region's institutions.

A June 2017 analysis described the region's "relationship with the regime fraught but functional" and a "semi-cooperative dynamic".

In late September 2017, Syria's Foreign Minister said that Damascus would consider granting Kurds more autonomy in the region once ISIL is defeated.

Kurdish question

See also: Kurdistan and Kurdish nationalism

Kurdish-inhabited areas in 1992 according to the CIA

The region's dominant political party, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), is a member organisation of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) organization; however, the other KCK member organisations in the neighbouring states (Turkey, Iran and Iraq) with Kurdish minorities are either outlawed (Turkish Kurdistan, Iranian Kurdistan) or politically marginal with respect to other Kurdish parties (Iraq). Expressions of sympathy for Syrian Kurds have been numerous among Kurds in Turkey. During the Siege of Kobanî, some ethnic Kurdish citizens of Turkey crossed the border and volunteered in the defense of the town.

The region's relationship with the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq is complicated. One context is that the governing party there, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), views itself and its affiliated Kurdish parties in other countries as a more conservative and nationalist alternative and competitor to the KCK political agenda and blueprint in general. The political system of Iraqi Kurdistan stands in stark contrast to the region's system. Like the KCK umbrella organization, the PYD has some anti-nationalist ideological leanings while having Kurdish nationalist factions as well. They have traditionally been opposed by the Iraqi-Kurdish KDP-sponsored Kurdish National Council in Syria with more clear Kurdish nationalist leanings.

International relations

Main article: Foreign relations of North and East Syria

See also: Syrian Democratic Forces § Support by the United States, France and other Western nations

Salih Muslim, co-chairman of the region's leading Democratic Union Party (PYD) with Ulla Jelpke at Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Berlin

The region's most notable role in the international arena is comprehensive military cooperation of its militias under the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) umbrella with the United States and the international (US-led) coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. In a public statement in March 2016, the day after the declaration of the regions autonomy, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter praised the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia as having "proven to be excellent partners of ours on the ground in fighting ISIL. We are grateful for that, and we intend to continue to do that, recognizing the complexities of their regional role." Late October 2016, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander of the international Anti-ISIL-coalition, said that the SDF would lead the impending assault on Raqqa, ISIL's stronghold and capital, and that SDF commanders would plan the operation with advice from American and coalition troops. At various times, the U.S. deployed U.S. troops embedded with the SDF to the border between the region and Turkey, in order to deter Turkish aggressions against the SDF. In February 2018, the United States Department of Defense released a budget blueprint for 2019 with respect to the region, which included $300 million for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and $250 million for border security. In April 2018, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron dispatched troops to Manbij and Rmelan in a bid to assist Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militias and in order to defuse tensions with Turkey.

A demonstration in the city of Afrin in support of the YPG against the Turkish invasion of Afrin, 19 January 2018

In the diplomatic field, the de facto autonomous region lacks any formal recognition. While there is comprehensive activity of reception of the region's representatives and appreciation with a broad range of countries, only Russia has on occasion openly supported the region's political ambition of federalization of Syria in the international arena, while the U.S. does not. After peace talks between Syrian civil war parties in Astana in January 2017, Russia offered a draft for a future constitution of Syria, which would, among other things, change the "Syrian Arab Republic" into the "Republic of Syria", introduce decentralized authorities as well as elements of federalism like "association areas", strengthen the parliament at the cost of the presidency, and realize secularism by abolishing Islamic jurisprudence as a source of legislation. The region opened official representation offices in Moscow during 2016, Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, and The Hague. A broad range of public voices in the U.S. and Europe have called for more formal recognition of the region. Notable international cooperation has been in the field of educational and cultural institutions, like the cooperation agreement of Paris 8 University with the newly founded University of Rojava in Qamishli, or planning for a French cultural centre in Amuda.

Neighbouring Turkey is consistently hostile, which has been attributed to a perceived threat from the region's emergence, in that it would encourage activism for autonomy among Kurds in Turkey in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. In this context, in particular the region's leading Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the YPG militia being members of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) network of organisations, which also includes both political and military Kurdish organizations in Turkey itself, including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkey's policy towards the region is based on an economic blockade, persistent attempts of international isolation, opposition to the cooperation between the American-led anti-ISIL coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces, and support of Islamist opposition fighters hostile to the autonomous region, with some claims even including ISIL among these. Turkey has on several occasions militarily attacked the region's territory and defence forces. This has resulted in some expressions of international solidarity with the region.

On 9 October 2019, Turkey launched an attack on northern Syria to remove the Kurds after US President Donald Trump shifted his support.

See also

• Iraqi Kurdistan
• Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities

External links

• The 2014 Constitution of the Rojava Cantons
• Resources on the Rojava revolution in West Kurdistan (Syria)
• 'Rojava Revolution' Reading Guide