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*[[Adyghe language|Adyghe]]
| regional_languages =
| capital = [[Ayn Issa]]<ref name=kurdistan24newadmin/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/8c7251b9-f237-472a-a1f5-47cc24a12e7c |title=Turkish-backed groups launch attack near strategic Syrian town of Ain Issa |date=23 November 2019 |first=Wladimir |last=van Wilgenburg |website=Kurdistan24 |access-date=18 December 2020 |archive-date=5 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605095021/https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/8c7251b9-f237-472a-a1f5-47cc24a12e7c |url-status=live }}</ref>
| coordinates = {{Coord|36|23|7|N|38|51|34|E|type:city}}
| largest_city = [[Raqqa]]
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| government_type = [[federated state|Federated]] [[semi-direct democracy]]
| leader_title1 = [[Executive Council (North and East Syria)|Co-Presidents]]
| leader_name1 = [[Îlham Ehmed]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fetah |first1=Vîviyan |title=Îlham Ehmed: Dê rêxistinên me li Şamê jî ava bibin |url=https://www.rudaw.net/kurmanci/middleeast/syria/170720181 |access-date=29 September 2019 |work=rudaw.net |agency=Rudaw Media Network |date=17 July 2018 |language=ku |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309064506/https://www.rudaw.net/kurmanci/middleeast/syria/170720181 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<br />[[Mansur Selum]]<ref name=recognition>{{cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/kurdish-pyd-declares-federalism-northern-syria-1311505605|title=Syrian Kurds declare new federation in bid for recognition|work=Middle East Eye|date=17 March 2016|access-date=25 April 2016|archive-date=16 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816230615/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/kurdish-pyd-declares-federalism-northern-syria-1311505605|url-status=live}}</ref>
| leader_title2 = [[Syrian Democratic Council|Co-Chairs]]
| leader_name2 = Amina Omar<br />[[Riad Darar]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/amina-omar-ryad-derrar-elected-as-co-chairs-of-msd-h2572.html|title=Amina Omar ,Ryad Derrar elected as co-chairs of MSD - ANHA | HAWARNEWS | English|website=Hawarnews.com|access-date=4 December 2021|archive-date=27 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927195025/https://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/amina-omar-ryad-derrar-elected-as-co-chairs-of-msd-h2572.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| legislature = [[Syrian Democratic Council]]
| area_magnitude =
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}}
The '''Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria''' ('''AANES'''), also known as '''Rojava''',{{efn|The name "Rojava" ("The West") was initially used by the region's [[Democratic Union Party (Syria)|PYD]]-led government, before its usage was dropped in 2016.{{sfnp|Lister|2015|p=154}}{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=89}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/51940fb9-3aff-4e51-bcf8-b1629af00299/-Rojava--no-longer-exists---Northern-Syria--adopted-instead-|title='Rojava' no longer exists, 'Northern Syria' adopted instead|website=Kurdistan24|access-date=11 December 2019|archive-date=14 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114141412/https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/51940fb9-3aff-4e51-bcf8-b1629af00299/-rojava--no-longer-exists---northern-syria--adopted-instead-|url-status=live}}</ref> Since then, the name is still used by locals and international observers.<ref name="jazeera turkey"/><ref name="morningstar"/> }} is a [[de facto]] [[Autonomous administrative division|autonomous region]] in northeastern [[Syria]].{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=11, 95}}{{sfnp|Zabad|2017|pp=219, 228}} It consists of self-governing [[Regions of North and East Syria|sub-regions]] in the areas of [[Afrin Region|Afrin]], [[Jazira Region|Jazira]], [[Euphrates Region|Euphrates]], [[Raqqa]], [[Al-Thawrah|Tabqa]], [[Manbij]], and [[Deir ez-Zor Governorate|Deir Ez-Zor]].{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=97–98}}<ref name=electionsregions/><ref name="Second conference of Shahba region">{{cite web|url=http://cantonafrin.com/en/news/view/1658.a-delegation-from-the-democratic-administration-of-self-participate-in-the-second-conference-of-the-el--shahba-region.html|title=Delegation from the Democratic administration of Self-participate of self-participate in the first and second conference of the Shaba region|date=4 February 2016|publisher=Cantonafrin.com|access-date=12 June 2016|archive-date=9 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809175326/http://cantonafrin.com/en/news/view/1658.a-delegation-from-the-democratic-administration-of-self-participate-in-the-second-conference-of-the-el--shahba-region.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49973218|title=Turkey's Syria offensive explained in four maps|date=14 October 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=13 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013121623/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49973218|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syria Kurds adopt constitution for autonomous federal region|url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/12/30/syria-kurds-adopt-constitution-for-autonomous-federal-region|access-date=5 October 2018|publisher=TheNewArab|date=31 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005194832/https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/12/30/syria-kurds-adopt-constitution-for-autonomous-federal-region|archive-date=5 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
While entertaining [[Foreign relations of North and East Syria|some foreign relations]], the region is neither officially recognized as autonomous by the government of Syria, state or other governments institutions except for the [[Parliament of Catalonia|Catalan Parliament]].<ref name=russia-mediates/><ref>{{Cite web|date=26 October 2021|title=Umar: Catalonian recognition of AANES is the beginning|url=http://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/umar-catalonian-recognition-of-aanes-is-the-beginning-h27342.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-27|website=[[Hawar News Agency]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026094527/https://hawarnews.com/en/haber/umar-catalonian-recognition-of-aanes-is-the-beginning-h27342.html |archive-date=26 October 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=van Wilgenburg|first=Wladimir|author-link=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|date=21 October 2021|title=Catalan parliament recognizes administration in northeast Syria|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/25991-Catalan-parliament-recognizes-administration-in-northeast-Syria|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-27|website=[[Kurdistan24]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021074228/https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/25991-Catalan-parliament-recognizes-administration-in-northeast-Syria |archive-date=21 October 2021 }}</ref> The AANES has widespread support for its universal [[Democracy|democratic]], [[Ecological|sustainable]], [[autonomous]] [[pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralist]], [[Equality before the law|equal]], and [[Jineology|feminist]] policies in dialogues with other [[Political parties|parties]] and organizations.<ref name="tandfonline.com">{{Cite journal |url=http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/80502/1/SRO%20version%20Final%20Rojava.pdf |doi=10.1080/14650045.2018.1554564 |title=Beyond Orientalism: Exploring the Distinctive Feminism of democratic confederalism in Rojava |year=2018 |last1=Shahvisi |first1=Arianne |journal=Geopolitics |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=1–25 |s2cid=149972015 |access-date=9 December 2023 |archive-date=29 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629001622/http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/80502/1/SRO%20version%20Final%20Rojava.pdf |url-status=live | issn = 1465-0045}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://anfenglish.com/news/german-mp-jelpke-rojava-needs-help-against-corona-pandemic-42546|title=German MP Jelpke: Rojava needs help against Corona pandemic|website=ANF News|access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=26 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526220312/https://anfenglish.com/news/german-mp-jelpke-rojava-needs-help-against-corona-pandemic-42546|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Gender Revolution in Rojava: The Voices beyond Tabloid Geopolitics|first1=Bahar|last1=Şimşek|first2=Joost|last2=Jongerden|date=29 October 2018|journal=Geopolitics|volume=26|issue=4|pages=1023–1045|doi=10.1080/14650045.2018.1531283|doi-access=free|hdl=1887/87090|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Burç|first=Rosa|date=22 May 2020|title=Non-territorial autonomy and gender equality: The case of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria - Rojava|url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0353-5738/2020/0353-57382003319B.pdf|journal=Philosophy and Society|volume=31|issue=3|pages=277–448|doi=10.2298/FID2003319B|s2cid=226412887|access-date=5 February 2021|archive-date=17 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617192825/http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0353-5738/2020/0353-57382003319B.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Northeastern Syria is [[polyethnicity|polyethnic]] and home to sizeable ethnic [[Kurds|Kurdish]], [[Arabs|Arab]], and [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] populations, with smaller communities of ethnic [[Syrian Turkmen|Turkmen]], [[Armenians in Syria|Armenians]], [[Circassians]], and [[Yazidis]].{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=xviii, 112}}{{sfnp|Zabad|2017|pp=219, 228–229}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schmidinger|first=Thomas|title=The Battle for the Mountain of the Kurds|publisher=PM Press, Kairos|year=2019|isbn=978-1-62963-651-1|location=Oakland, CA|pages=12|translator-last=Schiffmann|translator-first=Thomas|quote=Afrin was the home to the largest Ezidi minority in Syria.}}</ref>
The supporters of the region's administration state that it is an officially [[Secularism|secular]] [[polity]]{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=xviii, 66, 200}}<ref name="marriage">{{cite web|date=20 February 2016|title=Syria Kurds challenging traditions, promote civil marriage|url=http://aranews.net/2016/02/syria-kurds-challenging-traditions-promote-civil-marriage/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222111444/http://aranews.net/2016/02/syria-kurds-challenging-traditions-promote-civil-marriage/|archive-date=22 February 2016|access-date=23 August 2016|publisher=[[ARA News]]}}</ref><ref name=Dawronoye/> with [[Direct democracy|direct democratic]] ambitions based on [[democratic confederalism]] and [[libertarian socialism]]<ref name="ls1">{{Cite web |last=Colella |first=Chris |date=Winter 2017 |title=The Rojava Revolution: Oil, Water, and Liberation – Commodities, Conflict, and Cooperation |url=https://sites.evergreen.edu/ccc/other/the-rojava-revolution/ |access-date=2023-07-23 |website=Commodities, Conflict, and Cooperation |publisher=[[Evergreen State College]] |language=en-US |archive-date=23 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723092142/https://sites.evergreen.edu/ccc/other/the-rojava-revolution/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ls2">{{Cite book |title=Libertarian Socialism: Politics in Black and Red |publisher=[[PM Press]] |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-62963-390-9 |editor-last=Prichard |editor-first=Alex |edition=2nd |location=Oakland, CA |chapter=Preface |editor-last2=Kinna |editor-first2=Ruth |editor-last3=Pinta |editor-first3=Saku |editor-last4=Berry |editor-first4=David}}</ref> promoting [[decentralization]], [[gender equality]],{{sfnp|Zabad|2017|p=219}}{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=156–163}} environmental [[sustainability]], social [[ecology]], and pluralistic tolerance for [[Religious pluralism|religious]], cultural, and political [[Diversity (politics)|diversity]], and that these values are mirrored in its [[Constitution of North and East Syria|constitution]], society, and politics, stating it to be a model for a [[Federalization of Syria|federalized Syria]] as a whole, rather than outright independence.<ref>{{cite news|title=PYD leader: SDF operation for Raqqa countryside in progress, Syria can only be secular|url=http://aranews.net/2016/05/poyd-leader-current-sdf-operation-recapture-northern-countryside-raqqa-not-city/|access-date=8 October 2016|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=28 May 2016|archive-date=1 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001094203/http://aranews.net/2016/05/poyd-leader-current-sdf-operation-recapture-northern-countryside-raqqa-not-city/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="utopia">{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Carne|date=30 September 2015|title=The Kurds' Democratic Experiment|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/opinion/the-kurds-democratic-experiment.html|access-date=20 May 2016|archive-date=18 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618184815/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/opinion/the-kurds-democratic-experiment.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=In der Maur|first1=Renée|last2=Staal|first2=Jonas|title=Stateless Democracy|date=2015|publisher=BAK|location=Utrecht|isbn=978-90-77288-22-1|page=19|url=http://newworldsummit.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/NWA5-Stateless-Democracy1.pdf|chapter=Introduction|access-date=19 April 2016|archive-date=25 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025095239/http://newworldsummit.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/NWA5-Stateless-Democracy1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Jongerden>{{cite web|url=http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/12/turkey4358b.pdf|title=Rethinking Politics and Democracy in the Middle East|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=6 December 2012|publisher=[[Ekurd.net]]|access-date=9 October 2016|archive-date=15 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315143043/http://ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/12/turkey4358b.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=MiddleEastEye/> The region's administration has also been accused by [[Partisan (politics)|partisan]] and non-partisan sources of [[authoritarianism]], [[media censorship]], [[Enforced disappearance|forced disappearances]], support of the [[Government of Syria|Syrian government]],{{Efn|Sources:{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=94, 130–131, 184}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syria 2022 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/syria/report-syria/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910183104/https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/syria/report-syria/ |archive-date=10 September 2021 |website=[[Amnesty International]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Syria: Events of 2021 |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/syria |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113054216/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/syria |archive-date=13 January 2022 |website=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref> }} [[Kurdification]], and displacement.<ref name=":4" /> At the same time, the AANES has also been described by partisan and non-partisan sources as the most democratic system in Syria, with direct open elections, [[Social equality|universal equality]], respecting [[human rights]] within the region, as well as defense of [[Minority group|minority]] and [[religious rights]] within Syria.{{Efn|Sources:<ref>
The region has implemented a new [[social justice]] approach which emphasizes [[Occupational rehabilitation|rehabilitation]], [[empowerment]], and [[social care]] over [[Retributive justice|retribution]]. The [[Abolition of capital punishment|death penalty was abolished]]. Prisons house mostly people charged with terrorist activity related to [[ISIL]] and other extremist groups, and are a large strain on the region's [[Economy of Rojava|economy]]. The autonomous region is ruled by a coalition pursuing a model of economy that blends co-operative and market enterprise, through a system of [[Local government|local councils]] in minority, cultural, and religious representation
Since 2016, Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces [[Turkish occupation of northern Syria|have occupied parts of northern Syria]] through a series of military operations against the SDF. AANES and its SDF have stated they will defend all regions of autonomous administration from any aggression.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-turkey-sdf-statement-idUSKBN1WR0FM|title=Kurdish-led SDF says Turkish invasion has revived IS, urges no-fly zone|date=12 October 2019|publisher=Reuters|access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=27 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427094728/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-turkey-sdf-statement-idUSKBN1WR0FM|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ahvalnews.com/sdf-turkey|title=SDF-Turkey|website=Ahval|access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=5 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905020637/https://ahvalnews.com/sdf-turkey|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Polity names and translations==
[[File:Flag of Rojava.svg|thumb|The [[tricolor (flag)|Tricolor]] flag of [[TEV-DEM]], adopted circa 2012, commonly used by Kurdish Syrians.]]
Parts of northern Syria are known as '''Western Kurdistan''' ({{lang-ku|Rojavayê Kurdistanê}}) or simply '''Rojava''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|r|oʊ|ʒ|ə|ˈ|v|ɑː}} {{respell|ROH|zhə|VAH|'}}; {{IPA-ku|roʒɑˈvɑ|lang}} "the West") among Kurds,<ref name="lister154">{{harvnb|Lister|2015|p=154}}: "On 19 July the PYD formally announced that it had written a constitution for an autonomous Syrian Kurdish region to be known as West Kurdistan."</ref>{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=89}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ku.hawarnews.com/yekineya-anti-teror-a-rojavaye-kurdistane-hate-avakirin/|title=Yekîneya Antî Teror a Rojavayê Kurdistanê hate avakirin|language=ku|date=7 April 2015|website=Ajansa Nûçeyan a Hawar|access-date=13 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512023530/http://ku.hawarnews.com/yekineya-anti-teror-a-rojavaye-kurdistane-hate-avakirin/|archive-date=12 May 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all|trans-title=Anti-Terror Unit of West Kurdistan formed}}</ref> one of the four parts of [[Greater Kurdistan]].<ref>''Kurdish Awakening: Nation Building in a Fragmented Homeland'', (2014), by Ofra Bengio, University of Texas Press, p. 2</ref> The name "Rojava" was thus associated with a Kurdish identity of the administration. As the region expanded and increasingly included areas dominated by non-Kurdish groups, mostly Arabs, "Rojava" was used less and less by the administration in hopes of deethnicising its appearance and making it more acceptable to other ethnicities.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=89, 151–152}} Regardless, the polity continued to be called "Rojava" by locals and international observers,<ref name="jazeera turkey">{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/turkey-military-operation-syria-latest-updates-191013083950643.html |title=Turkey's military operation in Syria: All the latest updates |work=al Jazeera |date=14 October 2019 |access-date=29 October 2019 |archive-date=16 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916172212/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/turkey-military-operation-syria-latest-updates-191013083950643.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="gurcan">{{cite web |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/11/turkey-syria-pkk-worried-by-growing-popularity-of-ypg-kurds.html |title=Is the PKK worried by the YPG's growing popularity? |author=Metin Gurcan |work=[[al-Monitor]] |date=7 November 2019 |access-date=7 November 2019 |archive-date=8 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108183057/https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/11/turkey-syria-pkk-worried-by-growing-popularity-of-ypg-kurds.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="morningstar">{{cite news |url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/communist-volunteers-fighting-turkish-invasion-syria |title=The Communist volunteers fighting the Turkish invasion of Syria |date=31 October 2019 |work=[[Morning Star (British newspaper)|Morning Star]] |access-date=1 November 2019 |archive-date=22 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922022037/https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/communist-volunteers-fighting-turkish-invasion-syria |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ardmediathek.de/ard/player/Y3JpZDovL25kci5kZS81YmI0NzU0OC0zNGI3LTRlMTYtYWI2MC03YWM3ZDA5YmRhNDQ/ |title=Nordsyrien: Warum ein Deutscher sein Leben für die Kurden riskiert |trans-title=Northern Syria: Why a German risks his life for the Kurds |language=de |date=31 October 2019 |work=ARD |access-date=1 November 2019 |archive-date=1 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101164522/https://www.ardmediathek.de/ard/player/Y3JpZDovL25kci5kZS81YmI0NzU0OC0zNGI3LTRlMTYtYWI2MC03YWM3ZDA5YmRhNDQ/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> with journalist Metin Gurcan noting that "the concept of Rojava [had become] a brand gaining global recognition" by 2019.<ref name="gurcan"/>
The territory around Jazira province of northeastern Syria is called '''Gozarto''' ({{lang-syc|ܓܙܪܬܐ|translit=Gozarto}}), part of the historical [[Assyrian homeland]], by Syriac-Assyrians.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Aramaic (Assyrian/Syriac) Dictionary & Phrasebook: Swadaya-English, Turoyo-English, English-Swadaya-Turoyo|last1=Awde|first1=Nicholas|last2=Lamassu|first2=Nineb|last3=Al-Jeloo|first3=Nicholas|date=2007|publisher=Hippocrene Books|isbn=9780781810876|page=300}}</ref> The area has also been nicknamed '''Federal Northern Syria''', and the '''Democratic Confederalist Autonomous Areas of Northern Syria'''.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=89}}
The first name of the local government for the Kurdish-dominated areas in [[Afrin District]], [[Ayn al-Arab District]] (Kobanî), and northern [[al-Hasakah Governorate]] was "Interim Transitional Administration", adopted in 2013.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=89}} After the three autonomous cantons were proclaimed in 2014,{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=93–94}} PYD-governed territories were also nicknamed "the Autonomous Regions"{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=89}} or "Democratic Autonomous Administration".<ref name=omran2018>{{cite web|url=http://omranstudies.org/publications/papers/the-autonomous-administration-in-northern-syria-questions-of-legitimacy-and-identity.html|title=The Autonomous Administration in Northern Syria: Questions of Legitimacy and Identity|publisher=Omran Center for Strategic Studies|date=26 July 2018|access-date=14 February 2019|archive-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401130230/http://omranstudies.org/publications/papers/the-autonomous-administration-in-northern-syria-questions-of-legitimacy-and-identity.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On 17 March 2016, northern Syria's administration self-declared the establishment of a [[federal system]] of government as the '''Democratic Federation of Rojava – Northern Syria''' ({{lang-ku|Federaliya Demokratîk a Rojava – Bakurê Sûriyê}}; {{lang-ar|الفدرالية الديمقراطية لروج آفا – شمال سوريا|translit=al-Fidirāliyya al-Dīmuqrāṭiyya li-Rūj ʾĀvā – Šamāl Suriyā}}; {{lang-syc|ܦܕܪܐܠܝܘܬ݂ܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܐܛܝܬܐ ܠܓܙܪܬܐ ܒܓܪܒܝܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ|translit=Federaloyotho Demoqraṭoyto l'Gozarto b'Garbyo d'Suriya}}; sometimes abbreviated as NSR).{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=89}}<ref name="AlJazeeraFederal">{{cite web
The updated December 2016 constitution of the polity uses the name '''Democratic Federation of Northern Syria''' ('''DFNS''') ({{lang-ku|Federaliya Demokratîk a Bakûrê Sûriyê}}; {{lang-ar|الفدرالية الديمقراطية لشمال سوريا|translit=al-Fidirāliyya al-Dīmuqrāṭiyya li-Šamāl Suriyā}}; {{lang-syc|ܦܕܪܐܠܝܘܬ݂ܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܐܛܝܬܐ ܕܓܪܒܝ ܣܘܪܝܐ|translit=Federaloyotho Demoqraṭoyto d'Garbay Suriya}}).<ref name="en.hawarnews.com">{{cite news|url=http://en.hawarnews.com/second-day-of-northern-syria-constituent-assembly-conference-takes-place/|title=Second day of Northern Syria Constituent Assembly conference takes place|date=28 December 2016|publisher=[[Hawar News Agency]]|access-date=28 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611083336/http://en.hawarnews.com/second-day-of-northern-syria-constituent-assembly-conference-takes-place/|archive-date=11 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian Kurdish groups, allies say approve blueprint for federal system|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUKKBN14I1BG|access-date=1 January 2017|publisher=Reuters|date=29 December 2016|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612163409/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUKKBN14I1BG|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Rojava' no longer exists, 'Northern Syria' adopted instead|url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/51940fb9-3aff-4e51-bcf8-b1629af00299/-Rojava--no-longer-exists---Northern-Syria--adopted-instead-|access-date=1 January 2017|publisher=Kurdistan24|date=31 December 2016|archive-date=25 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625115433/http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/51940fb9-3aff-4e51-bcf8-b1629af00299/-rojava--no-longer-exists---northern-syria--adopted-instead-|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Northern Syria Social Contract in Syriac">{{Cite web|url=http://fdr-bs.com/sur/2017/02/03/%DC%A9%DC%9D%DC%A1%DC%90-%DC%9F%DC%A2%DC%98%DC%AB%DC%9D%DC%9D%DC%90-%DC%95%DC%A6%DC%95%DC%AA%DC%90%DC%A0%DC%9D%DC%98%DC%AC%DD%82%DC%90-%DC%95%DC%9D%DC%A1%DC%A9%DC%AA%DC%90%DC%9B%DC%9D%DC%AC%DC%90/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002150844/https://fdr-bs.com/sur/2017/02/03/%DC%A9%DC%9D%DC%A1%DC%90-%DC%9F%DC%A2%DC%98%DC%AB%DC%9D%DC%9D%DC%90-%DC%95%DC%A6%DC%95%DC%AA%DC%90%DC%A0%DC%9D%DC%98%DC%AC%DD%82%DC%90-%DC%95%DC%9D%DC%A1%DC%A9%DC%AA%DC%90%DC%9B%DC%9D%DC%AC%DC%90/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 October 2022|title=ܩܝܡܐ ܟܢܘܫܝܝܐ ܕܦܕܪܐܠܝܘܬ݂ܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܐܛܝܬܐ ܕܓܪܒܝ ܣܘܪܝܐ|website=Fdr-bs.com|access-date=4 December 2021}}</ref>
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) ({{lang-ku|Rêveberiya Xweser a Bakur û Rojhilatê Sûriyeyê}}; {{lang-ar|الإدارة الذاتية لشمال وشرق سوريا}}; {{lang-syc|ܡܕܰܒܪܳܢܘܬ݂ܳܐ ܝܳܬ݂ܰܝܬܳܐ ܠܓܰܪܒܝܳܐ ܘܡܰܕܢܚܳܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܰܐ|translit=Mdabronuṯo Yoṯayto l-Garbyo w-Madnḥyo d-Suriya}}; {{lang-tr|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.<ref name=hawarnewsANHA/><ref name=kurdistan24newadmin/><ref name=hawarnewsaminomar/>
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By the 9th century, northern Syria was inhabited by a mixed population of Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds, Turkic groups, and others. Kurdish tribes in the area often operated as soldiers for hire,{{sfnp|Meri|2006|p=445}} and were still placed in specific military settlements in the northern Syrian mountains.{{sfnp|Vanly|1992|p=114}} There existed a Kurdish elite of which [[Saladin]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Burns|first=Ross|title=Aleppo, A History|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=9780415737210|pages=142–144}}</ref> the founder of the [[Ayyubid dynasty]] and the Emir of [[Masyaf]] in the 12th century were part of.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Burns|first=Ross|title=Aleppo, A History|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=9780415737210|page=129}}</ref> Under Saladin's rule, northern Syria experienced a mass immigration of Turkic groups who came into conflict with Kurdish tribes, resulting in clashes that wiped out several Kurdish communities.{{sfnp|Morton|2020|p=167}}
During the [[Ottoman Empire]] (1516–1922), large [[Kurdish languages|Kurdish-speaking]] tribal groups both settled in and were deported to areas of northern Syria from [[Anatolia]].<ref name="Travis2"/><ref name="R. S. Stafford 2006 25"/> By the 18th century, five Kurdish tribes existed in northeastern Syria.{{sfnp|Vanly|1992|p=114}} 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 people|Turkish]]) authorities in the massacres of [[Armenian genocide|Armenian]] and [[Assyrian genocide|Assyrian]] Christians in [[Upper Mesopotamia]], between 1914 and 1920, with further attacks on unarmed fleeing civilians conducted by local Arab militias.<ref name="Travis2">Travis, Hannibal. ''Genocide in the Middle East: The Ottoman Empire, Iraq, and Sudan''. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2010, 2007, pp. 237–77, 293–294.</ref><ref>Hovannisian, Richard G., 2007. [https://books.google.com/books?id=K3monyE4CVQC The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515063459/https://books.google.com/books?id=K3monyE4CVQC |date=15 May 2024 }}. Accessed on 11 November 2014.</ref><ref name="R. S. Stafford 2006 25">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSzuzsRh37gC&pg=PA25|title= The Tragedy of the Assyrians|author= R. S. Stafford|pages= 24–25|year= 2006|publisher= Gorgias Press, LLC|isbn= 9781593334130}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Jordi |last=Tejel |year=2008 |title=Syria's Kurds: History, Politics and Society |pages=25–29 |url=http://www.kurdipedia.org/files/books/2012/74488.PDF |access-date=7 August 2017 |archive-date=5 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305064928/https://www.kurdipedia.org/files/books/2012/74488.PDF |url-status=live }}</ref> Many Assyrians fled to Syria during the genocide and settled mainly in the Jazira area.<ref name="R. S. Stafford 2006 25"/><ref>{{cite journal
=== Syria's independence and rule of the Ba'ath Party ===
{{See also|Modern history of Syria|Human rights in North and East Syria}}
[[File:Hafez al-Assad official portrait.jpg|thumb|180px|right|The [[Ba'athist]] [[Hafez al-Assad Government|government of Syria]] under [[Hafez al-Assad]] (pictured {{circa}} 1987) implemented [[Arabization]] policies in northern Syria.]]
Following [[First Syrian Republic|Syria's independence]], policies of [[Arab nationalism]] and attempts at forced [[Arabization]] became widespread in the country's north, to a large part directed against the Kurdish population.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=27}}<ref name=HRW1996>{{cite journal|title=The Silenced Kurds|journal=Human Rights Watch|date=October 1996|volume=8|issue=4|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Syria.htm|access-date=4 December 2016|archive-date=12 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312084700/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Syria.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="marcus">{{cite book|last1=Marcus|first1=Aliza|title=Blood and belief: the PKK and the Kurdish fight for independence|date=2009|publisher=New York University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0814795873|page=61|edition=1. publ. in paperback.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6rcUCgAAQBAJ|access-date=4 March 2017|archive-date=15 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515063500/https://books.google.com/books?id=6rcUCgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Property was routinely confiscated by government loansharks. After the [[Ba'ath Party]] seized power in the [[1963 Syrian coup d'état]], non-Arab languages were forbidden at Syrian public schools. This compromised the education of students belonging to minorities like Kurds, Turkmen, and Assyrians.<ref>{{cite news|title=After 52-year ban, Syrian Kurds now taught Kurdish in schools|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/syria-kurdistan-self-governance-teach-kurdish-language.html|agency=Al-Monitor|date=6 November 2015|access-date=19 May 2016|archive-date=11 November 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161111055911/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/syria-kurdistan-self-governance-teach-kurdish-language.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=syriasamer>{{cite book|last1=Abboud|first1=Samer N.|title=Syria|date=2015|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0745698014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPbrCgAAQBAJ}}</ref> Some groups like Armenians, Circassians, and Assyrians were able to compensate by establishing private schools, but Kurdish private schools were also banned.<ref name=HRW1996 /><ref name="CSmonitor-2005">{{cite journal|title=A murder stirs Kurds in Syria|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0616/p01s03-wome.html|journal=The Christian Science Monitor|date=16 June 2005|access-date=25 June 2015|archive-date=4 September 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150904192036/http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0616/p01s03-wome.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Northern Syrian 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.<ref name=syriasamer /> In his report for the 12th session of the UN [[Human Rights Council]] titled ''Persecution and Discrimination against Kurdish Citizens in Syria'', the [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|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{{snd}} an integral part of human existence. The government imposed ethnically-based programs, regulations and exclusionary measures on various aspects of Kurds' lives{{snd}} political, economic, social and cultural."<ref name="OHCHR-2009">{{cite web|title=Persecution and Discrimination against Kurdish Citizens in Syria, Report for the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council|url=http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/session12/SY/KIS-KurdsinSyria-eng.pdf|website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|date=2009|access-date=25 June 2015|archive-date=25 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025095237/http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/session12/SY/KIS-KurdsinSyria-eng.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Kurdish cultural festivals like [[Newroz as celebrated by Kurds|Newroz]] were effectively banned.{{sfnp|Lister|2015|p=13}}
[[File:Newroz Girê Tertebê 1997.jpg|thumb|Kurds celebrating [[Newroz]] in Girê Tertebê, near Qamishlo, in 1997]]
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 [[Statelessness|stateless]].<ref name=HRW1996 />{{sfnp|Lister|2015|p=13}}<ref name=Tejel>{{cite book|first=Jordi|last=Tejel|url=http://www.kurdipedia.org/books/74488.pdf|title=Syria's kurds history, politics and society|year=2009|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-203-89211-4|pages=X-X|edition=1. publ.|author2=Welle, Jane|access-date=7 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001038/http://www.kurdipedia.org/books/74488.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> This status was passed to the children of a "stateless" Kurdish father.<ref name=HRW1996 /> In 2010, the [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) estimated the number of such "stateless" Kurdish people in Syria at 300,000.<ref name="HRW-2010">{{cite
The response of northern Syrian parties and movements to the policies of [[Hafez al-Assad]]'s Ba'athist government varied greatly. Some parties opted for resistance, whereas others such as the [[Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party]]{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=53}} and the [[Assyrian Democratic Party (Syria)|Assyrian Democratic Party]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/the-assyrians-of-syria-history-and-prospets-by-mardean-isaac/|title=The Assyrians of Syria: History and Prospects|author=Mardean Isaac|work=Syria Comment|date=20 December 2015|access-date=1 April 2017|archive-date=17 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617144704/https://www.joshualandis.com/blog/the-assyrians-of-syria-history-and-prospets-by-mardean-isaac/|url-status=dead}}</ref> attempted to work within the system, hoping to bring about changes through soft pressure.{{sfnp|Sinclair|Kajjo|2013|p=180}} In general, parties that openly represented certain ethnic and religious minorities were not allowed to participate in elections, but their politicians were occasionally allowed to run as Independents.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=28}} Some Kurdish politicians won seats during the [[1990 Syrian parliamentary election|Syrian elections in 1990]].{{sfnp|Tejel|2009|p=67}} The government also recruited Kurdish officials, in particular as mayors, to ease ethnic relations. Regardless, northern Syrian ethnic groups remained deliberately underrepresented in the bureaucracy, and many Kurdish majority areas were run by Arab officials from other parts of the country.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=28}} Security and intelligence agencies worked hard to suppress dissidents, and most Kurdish parties remained underground movements. The government monitored, though generally allowed this "sub-state activity" because the northern minorities including the Kurds rarely caused unrest with the exception of the [[2004 Qamishli riots]].{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=28}} The situation improved after the death of Hafez al-Assad and the election of his son, [[Bashar al-Assad]], under whom the number of Kurdish officials grew.{{sfnp|Lister|2015|p=30}}
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Despite the [[Ba'athist]] internal policies which officially suppressed a Kurdish identity, the Syrian government allowed the [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK) to set up training camps from 1980. The PKK was a militant Kurdish group led by [[Abdullah Öcalan]] which was [[Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present)|waging an insurgency against Turkey]]. Syria and Turkey were hostile toward each other at the time, resulting in the use of the PKK as proxy group.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=28}}<ref name="gurcan"/> The party began to deeply influence the Syrian Kurdish population in the [[Afrin District|Afrin]] and [[Ayn al-Arab District]]s, where it promoted Kurdish identity through music, clothing, popular culture, and social activities. In contrast, the PKK remained much less popular among Kurds in [[al-Hasakah Governorate]], where other Kurdish parties maintained more influence. Many Syrian Kurds developed a long-lasting sympathy for the PKK, and a large number, possibly more than 10,000, joined its insurgency in Turkey.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=28}} A rapprochement between Syria and Turkey brought an end to this phase in 1998, when Öcalan and the PKK were formally expelled from northern Syria. Regardless, the PKK maintained a clandestine presence in the region.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=28}}<ref name="gurcan"/>
In 2002, the PKK and allied groups organized the [[Kurdistan Communities Union]] (KCK) to implement Öcalan's ideas in various Middle Eastern countries. A KCK branch was also set up in Syria, led by Sofi Nureddin and known as "KCK-Rojava". In an attempt to outwardly distance the Syrian branch from the PKK,<ref name="gurcan"/> the [[Democratic Union Party (Syria)|Democratic Union Party]] (PYD) was established as ''de facto'' Syrian "successor" of the PKK in 2003.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=28}} The "[[People's Protection Units]]" (YPG), a paramilitary wing of the PYD, was also founded during this time, but remained dormant.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/read/meet-the-ypg|title=Meet the YPG, the Kurdish militia that doesn't want help from anyone|last=Gold|first=Danny|date=31 October 2012|quote=A member of YPG's central command … said that the YPG formed in 2004 shortly after the Qamishlo riots, when a number of Kurdish youth realized that they needed to be able to defend themselves more efficiently. They did not officially declare themselves until the revolution started in 2011.|magazine=[[Vice (magazine)|VICE]]|access-date=9 October 2014|archive-date=13 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413210952/http://www.vice.com/read/meet-the-ypg|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Establishment of de facto autonomy and war against ISIL ===
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Existing underground Kurdish political parties, namely the PYD and the [[Kurdish National Council]] (KNC), joined to form the [[Kurdish Supreme Committee]] (KSC).
[[File:Syrian civil war 01 12 2015.png|thumb|230px|Military situation in December 2015, the SDF would be successful in pushing ISIS out of northern Syria]]
[[File:YPJ - Rojava.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|A [[YPJ]] fighter, November 2014]]
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 stated the YPG was a clone of the [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK) which Turkey (and the U.S. and the E.U.) designate as [[Terrorism|terrorists]].<ref name=nrc15Oct2019/> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria's Kurds declare de-facto federal region in north|url=https://apnews.com/882b101de1024e63bd9525bb32c708e3|access-date=17 January 2017|work=Associated Press News|date=17 March 2016}}</ref> The declaration was quickly denounced by both the Syrian government and the [[National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces]].<ref name=AlJazeeraFederal/>
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.<ref name=recognition/> 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".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-federalism-idUSKCN0X90M9|title=Syrian Kurds in six-month countdown to federalism|newspaper=Reuters|date=12 April 2016|access-date=19 June 2016|last1=Perry|first1=Tom|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308193107/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-federalism-idUSKCN0X90M9|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=qamishli>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/07/syrian-kurds-declare-qamishli-capital-new-federal-system/|title=Syrian Kurds declare Qamishli as capital for the new federal system|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=5 July 2016|access-date=5 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708143406/http://aranews.net/2016/07/syrian-kurds-declare-qamishli-capital-new-federal-system/|archive-date=8 July 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=new-constitution>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/07/north-syria-rojava-kurdish-federation-constitution.html|title=After approving constitution, what's next for Syria's Kurds?|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=22 July 2016|access-date=22 July 2016|archive-date=4 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604075340/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/07/north-syria-rojava-kurdish-federation-constitution.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The main political opposition to the constitution have been [[Kurdish nationalist]]s, in particular the KNC, who have different ideological aspirations than the TEV-DEM coalition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2016/07/kurds-arabs-assyrians-talk-enab-baladi-federal-constitution-syria/|title=Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians talk to Enab Baladi about the 'Federal Constitution' in Syria|date=26 July 2016|access-date=26 July 2016|archive-date=5 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205124829/https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2016/07/kurds-arabs-assyrians-talk-enab-baladi-federal-constitution-syria/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-constitution-idUSKBN14H0X3?il=0 |title=Syrian Kurds, allies set to approve new government blueprint |work=Reuters |date=28 December 2016 |access-date=1 July 2017 |archive-date=5 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805015106/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-constitution-idUSKBN14H0X3?il=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Turkish military operations and occupation===
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[[File:YPG sniper (Afrin February 2018).jpg|thumb|A [[YPG]] sniper in defense of Northern Syria from Turkey, [[Afrin District|Afrin]]]]
Since 2012, when the first YPG pockets appeared, Turkey had been alarmed by the presence of PKK-related forces at its southern border and grew concerned when the YPG entered into an alliance with the US to oppose ISIS forces in the region.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/world/europe/Turkey-Kurds-Erdogan.html|title=The World Condemns Erdogan's War on Kurds. But Turkey Applauds.|first=Patrick|last=Kingsley|date=16 October 2019|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=26 October 2019|archive-date=30 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130095924/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/world/europe/Turkey-Kurds-Erdogan.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Turkish government refused to allow aid to be sent to the YPG during the Siege of Kobanî. This led to the [[2014 Kurdish riots in Turkey|Kurdish riots]], the breakdown of the [[Kurdish–Turkish peace process|2013–2015 peace process]] in July 2015 and the renewal of [[Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)|armed conflict]] between the PKK and Turkish forces. According to the Turkish pro-government newspaper ''Daily Sabah,'' the YPG's parent organisation, the PYD, provided the PKK with militants, explosives, arms and ammunition.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/war-on-terror/2019/07/24/interpol-removes-top-pkk-affiliated-figure-from-its-red-notice-list|title=Interpol removes top PKK-affiliated figure from its red notice list|date=24 July 2019|newspaper=Daily Sabah|access-date=26 October 2019|archive-date=3 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103210917/https://www.dailysabah.com/war-on-terror/2019/07/24/interpol-removes-top-pkk-affiliated-figure-from-its-red-notice-list|url-status=live}}</ref>
In early 2018, Turkey launched [[Operation Olive Branch]] alongside [[Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army]] to capture the Kurdish-majority [[Afrin, Syria|Afrin]] and oust the YPG/SDF from the region.<ref>{{cite news |date=20 January 2018 |title=Terrified children, empty streets in Syria's Afrin as Turkey attacks |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20180120-terrified-children-empty-streets-syrias-afrin-turkey-attacks |work=France24 |access-date=25 October 2019 |archive-date=3 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103210918/https://www.france24.com/en/20180120-terrified-children-empty-streets-syrias-afrin-turkey-attacks |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Afrin Canton]], a subdivision of the region, was occupied and over 100,000 civilians were displaced and relocated to Afrin Region's [[Shahba Canton]] which remained under SDF, then joint SDF-[[Syrian Arab Army]] (SAA) control. The remaining SDF forces later launched an [[SDF insurgency in Northern Aleppo|ongoing insurgency]] against the Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/analysis/19022019 |title=The significance of the Shahba Canton for the YPG |first=Paul |last=Iddon |publisher=[[Rudaw Media Network]] |date=19 February 2019 |access-date=24 October 2019 |archive-date=24 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324070801/http://www.rudaw.net/english/analysis/19022019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Barış Pınarı Hârekatı sonrası Resulayn (Serêkanî) bombalanıyor.jpg|thumb|[[Ras al-Ayn]] shelling during the [[2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria]].]]
In 2019, Turkey launched [[2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria|Operation Peace Spring]] against the SDF. On 9 October, the [[Turkish Air Force]] launched airstrikes on border towns.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/09/turkey-launches-military-operation-in-northern-syria-erdogan|title=Turkey launches military operation in northern Syria|work=The Guardian|first=Bethan|last=McKernan|date=9 October 2019|access-date=26 October 2019|archive-date=15 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015081703/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/09/turkey-launches-military-operation-in-northern-syria-erdogan|url-status=live}}</ref> On 6 October [[President of the United States]] [[Donald Trump]] had ordered United States troops to withdraw from northeastern Syria where they had been [[American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War|providing support]] to the SDF.<ref>{{cite news |title=Trump makes way for Turkey operation against Kurds in Syria |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49956698?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cp7r8vgl2y7t/kurds&link_location=live-reporting-story |access-date=10 October 2019 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=7 October 2019 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220053236/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49956698?intlink_from_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Ftopics%2Fcp7r8vgl2y7t%2Fkurds&link_location=live-reporting-story |url-status=live }}</ref> Journalists called the withdrawal "a serious betrayal to the Kurds" and "a catastrophic blow to US credibility as an ally and Washington's standing on the world stage"; one journalist stated that "this was one of the worst US foreign policy disasters since the [[Iraq War]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.sky.com/story/us-betrayal-of-kurds-destroys-the-wests-credibility-for-years-to-come-11835611|title=US betrayal of Kurds destroys the West's credibility for years to come
== Politics ==
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{{See also|List of political parties in North and East Syria|Abdullah Öcalan#Democratic confederalism|Jineology}} {{Politics of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria}}
[[File:Syrian Civil War map (November 24, 2023).svg|thumb|200px|Location in the Syrian civil war as of 2024.]]
The political system of the region is based on its adopted constitution, officially titled "Charter of the Social Contract".<ref name=utopia/><ref name=charter>{{cite web|url=https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/charter-of-the-social-contract/|title=2014 Charter of the Social Contract of Rojava|publisher=Peace in Kurdistan|date=29 January 2014|access-date=18 June 2016|archive-date=31 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131222916/https://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/charter-of-the-social-contract/|url-status=live}}</ref> The constitution was ratified on 9 January 2014 and provides that all residents of the region shall enjoy fundamental rights such as [[gender equality]] and [[freedom of religion]].<ref name=utopia/> It also provides for [[property rights]].<ref name="Glioti">Andrea Glioti, [http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/08/rojava-libertarian-myth-scrutiny-160804083743648.html Rojava: A libertarian myth under scrutiny] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819212842/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/08/rojava-libertarian-myth-scrutiny-160804083743648.html |date=19 August 2016 }}, Al-Jazeera (6 August 2016).</ref> The region's system of community government has [[direct democracy|direct democratic]] aspirations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/opinion/29012015|title=A Very Different Ideology in the Middle East|publisher=Rudaw|access-date=1 February 2015|archive-date=31 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131061530/http://rudaw.net/english/opinion/29012015|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Former diplomat
{{Blockquote|"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).<ref name="Khalaf">{{cite web|last1=Khalaf|first1=Rana|title=Governing Rojava Layers of Legitimacy in Syria|url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/publications/research/2016-12-08-governing-rojava-khalaf.pdf|publisher=The Royal Institute of International Affairs|access-date=31 May 2017|archive-date=9 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009203952/https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/publications/research/2016-12-08-governing-rojava-khalaf.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Abdullah Öcalan]], a [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK) leader [[Imprisonment of Abdullah Öcalan|imprisoned]] in [[İmralı prison|İmralı]], Turkey, has become an iconic figure in the region whose ideology of [[democratic confederalism]] has shaped the region's society and politics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.voanews.com/a/writings-of-obscure-american-leftist-drive-kurdish-forces-to-syria/3678233.html|title=Writings of Obscure American Leftist Drive Kurdish Forces in Syria|work=Voice of America|date=16 January 2017
Besides the parties represented in TEV-DEM and the KNC, several other political groups operate in northern Syria. Several of these, such as the [[Kurdish National Alliance in Syria]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.enabbaladi.net/archives/64962|title="The Kurdish National Alliance," a new political entity in the column|work=Enab Baladi|date=15 February 2016|access-date=7 November 2019|archive-date=7 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107194042/https://www.enabbaladi.net/archives/64962|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.hawarnews.com/high-electoral-commission-disclosed-local-administration-elections-outcomes/ |title=High Electoral Commission disclosed Local Administration elections' outcomes |publisher=[[Hawar News Agency]] |date=5 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208042809/http://en.hawarnews.com/high-electoral-commission-disclosed-local-administration-elections-outcomes/ |archive-date=8 December 2017}}</ref> the [[Democratic Conservative Party (Syria)|Democratic Conservative Party]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://buyerpress.com/?p=56143 |script-title=ar:"المحافظين الديمقراطي" حزبٌ جديد يُعلن عن نفسه في قامشلو |trans-title=The Democratic Conservatives are a new party declaring itself in Qamishlo |work=buyer |language=ar |date=28 August 2017 |access-date=25 September 2019 |archive-date=25 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925081244/http://buyerpress.com/%3Fp%3D56143/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Assyrian Democratic Party (Syria)|Assyrian Democratic Party]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.hawarnews.com/electoral-commission-publish-video-of-elections-2nd-stage/ |title=Electoral Commission publish video of elections 2nd stage |work=[[Hawar News Agency]] |date=25 November 2017 |access-date=1 July 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032359/http://en.hawarnews.com/electoral-commission-publish-video-of-elections-2nd-stage/ |archive-date=1 December 2017}}</ref> and others actively participate in governing the region.
[[File:Kurdish YPG Fighters (22017659974).jpg|thumb|left|YPJ members in a [[greenhouse]] farm, for [[ecological]] cooperative farming]]
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."<ref name="Glioti"/> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/magazine/a-dream-of-utopia-in-hell.html|title=A Dream of Secular Utopia in ISIS' Backyard|date=29 November 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=20 October 2019|archive-date=4 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151204025745/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/magazine/a-dream-of-utopia-in-hell.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, there are aspirations for equal political representation of all ethno-religious components – Arabs, Kurds and Assyrians being the most sizeable ones. This has been compared this to the [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] [[National Pact|confessionalist]] system, which is based on that country's major religions.<ref name="Glioti"/><ref name="syriahr2015">{{cite web|title=YPG, backed by al-Khabour Guards Forces, al-Sanadid army and the Syriac Military Council, expels IS out of more than 230 towns, villages and farmlands |url=http://www.syriahr.com/en/2015/05/ypg-backed-by-al-khabour-guards-forces-al-sanadid-army-and-the-syriac-military-council-expels-is-out-of-more-than-230-towns-villages-and-farmlands/ |website=[[Syrian Observatory For Human Rights]] |access-date=28 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529003959/http://www.syriahr.com/en/2015/05/ypg-backed-by-al-khabour-guards-forces-al-sanadid-army-and-the-syriac-military-council-expels-is-out-of-more-than-230-towns-villages-and-farmlands/ |archive-date=29 May 2015 |date=28 May 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="opendem">{{cite web|last1=Gupta|first1=Rahila|title=Rojava's commitment to Jineolojî: the science of women|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/rahila-gupta/rojava-s-commitment-to-jineoloj-science-of-women|website=[[openDemocracy]]|access-date=28 February 2017|date=9 April 2016|archive-date=22 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922025049/https://www.opendemocracy.net/rahila-gupta/rojava-s-commitment-to-jineoloj-science-of-women|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Janes360">{{cite web|title=SDF plays central role in Syrian civil war|url=http://www.janes360.com/images/assets/333/57333/SDF_plays_central_role_in_Syrian_civil_war__1_.pdf|website=IHS Jane's 360|publisher=[[IHS (disambiguation)|IHS]]|access-date=28 February 2017|pages=3–4|date=20 January 2016|archive-date=23 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423194750/http://www.janes360.com/images/assets/333/57333/SDF_plays_central_role_in_Syrian_civil_war__1_.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The PYD-led rule has triggered protests in various areas since they first captured territory. In 2019, residents of tens of villages in the eastern [[Deir ez-Zor Governorate]] demonstrated for two weeks, regarding the new regional leadership as Kurdish-dominated and non-inclusive, citing arrests of suspected ISIL members, looting of oil, lack of infrastructure as well as forced conscription into the SDF as reasons. The protests resulted in deaths and injuries.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.apnews.com/3314a11ddb2b40fdbfbe689d812fa080|title=Anti-Kurdish protests in east Syria could endanger US plans|work=Associated Press|date=5 September 2019|access-date=13 October 2019|archive-date=13 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013194411/https://www.apnews.com/3314a11ddb2b40fdbfbe689d812fa080|url-status=live}}</ref> It has been stated 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.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Kheder Khaddour|title=BACK TO WHAT FUTURE? What Remains for Syria's Displaced People
Qamishli initially served as the ''de facto'' capital of the administration,{{sfnp|Lister|2015|p=154}}<ref name=qamishli/> but the area's governing body later relocated to [[Ayn Issa]].<ref name=kurdistan24newadmin/>
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[[File:Northern Syria Haskahka Canal.jpg|thumb|[[Canals]] in the [[Jazira Canton]], canals are used for reliable source of water and travel between [[cantons]]]]
The cantons were later reorganized into regions with subordinate cantons/provinces, areas, districts and communes. The first [[2017 Northern Syria local elections|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/hilbijartin.org/
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.<ref name=hawarnewsANHA>{{cite web |title=Final statement of Autonomous Administration of North , East Syria – ANHA {{!}} Ajansa Nûçeyan a Hawar |url=http://hawarnews.com/en/haber/final-statement-of-autonomous-administration-of-north-east-syria-h3608.html |quote=Autonomous Administration of North East Syria |access-date=8 September 2018 |archive-date=19 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319012446/http://hawarnews.com/en/haber/final-statement-of-autonomous-administration-of-north-east-syria-h3608.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="kurdistan24newadmin">{{cite web|last=van Wilgenburg|first=Wladimir|title=New administration formed for northeastern Syria|url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/c9e03dab-6265-4a9a-91ee-ea8d2a93c657|website=[[Kurdistan24]]|access-date=8 September 2018|archive-date=9 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190909163756/https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/c9e03dab-6265-4a9a-91ee-ea8d2a93c657|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=hawarnewsaminomar>{{cite web |title=Amina Omar : Autonomous Administration its purpose to serve people |url=http://hawarnews.com/en/haber/amina-omar-autonomous-administration-its-purpose-to-serve-people-consolidation-of-administrations--h3599.html |website=hawarnews.com |quote=Consolidation of administrations – ANHA {{!}} Ajansa Nûçeyan a Hawar |access-date=8 September 2018 |archive-date=19 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319082930/http://hawarnews.com/en/haber/amina-omar-autonomous-administration-its-purpose-to-serve-people-consolidation-of-administrations--h3599.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
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[[File:Seal of MSD.png|thumb|120px|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]].<ref name=Congress>{{cite web|url=http://www.kurdishinfo.com/derik-congress-decides-to-establish-democratic-syria-assembly|title=Dêrîk congress decides to establish Democratic Syria Assembly|work=Firat News Agency|publisher=kurdishinfo|access-date=2 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919071745/http://www.kurdishinfo.com/derik-congress-decides-to-establish-democratic-syria-assembly|archive-date=19 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://syrianobserver.com/EN/News/30279/Haytham_Manna_Elected_Joint_Chairman_Syrian_Democratic_Council|title=Haytham Manna Elected Joint Chairman of Syrian Democratic Council|publisher=The Syrian Observer|date=14 October 2015|access-date=26 May 2016|archive-date=23 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023192133/http://syrianobserver.com/EN/News/30279/Haytham_Manna_Elected_Joint_Chairman_Syrian_Democratic_Council|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=assembly>{{cite web|url=http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/executive-board-of-democratic-syria-assembly-elected |title=Executive Board of Democratic Syria Assembly elected |publisher=Ajansa Nûçeyan a Firatê English |access-date=2 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220074139/http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/executive-board-of-democratic-syria-assembly-elected |archive-date=20 December 2015}}</ref> The SDC appoints an Executive Council which deal with the economy, agriculture, natural resources, and foreign affairs.<ref name=Econ1/> General elections were planned for 2014 and 2018,<ref name=Econ1/> but this was postponed due to fighting.
==Education, media, and culture==
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[[File:At the culture center.jpg|thumb|Theater center in Rojava in Kobani 2014]]
Under the rule of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Ba'ath Party]], school education consisted of only [[Arabic]] language public schools, supplemented by Assyrian private confessional schools.<ref>{{citation
[[File:Tev-Cand, Tirbespi.jpg|thumb|High school students in Tev-Cand in a classroom, dancing during a class on Syrian culture]]
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 language|Syriac-Aramaic]] an additional language in public schools in Jazira Region,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/08/syriac-christians-revive-ancient-language-despite-war-2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817064715/http://aranews.net/2016/08/syriac-christians-revive-ancient-language-despite-war-2/|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 August 2016|title=Syriac Christians revive ancient language despite war|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=19 August 2016|access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref> which then started in the 2016/17 academic year.<ref name=syriaclanguage>{{cite web|url=http://syrianobserver.com/EN/News/31729/Hassakeh_Syriac_Language_Be_Taught_PYD_controlled_Schools/|title=Hassakeh: Syriac Language to Be Taught in PYD-controlled Schools|publisher=The Syrian Observer|date=3 October 2016|access-date=5 October 2016|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514082443/https://syrianobserver.com/news/25299/hassakeh_syriac_language_be_taught_pyd_controlled_schools.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/10/rojava-administration-launches-new-education-system-kurdish-arabic-assyrian-2/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007194102/http://aranews.net/2016/10/rojava-administration-launches-new-education-system-kurdish-arabic-assyrian-2/|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 October 2016|title=Rojava administration launches new curriculum in Kurdish, Arabic and Assyrian|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=7 October 2016|access-date=7 October 2016}}</ref> 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, al-Hasakah Governorate|Al-Qahtaniyah]] and [[Al-Malikiyah]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.hawarnews.com/syriacs-will-study-their-language-in-schools-this-year/|title=Syriacs will study their language in schools this year – ANHA|website=en.hawarnews.com|access-date=1 September 2017|archive-date=23 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523061341/https://hawarnews.com/ar/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.hawarnews.com/the-syriacs-are-taught-their-language-for-the-first-time/|title=The Syriacs are taught their language for the first time – ANHA|website=en.hawarnews.com|access-date=25 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924094715/http://en.hawarnews.com/the-syriacs-are-taught-their-language-for-the-first-time/|archive-date=24 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is reality of educational process in North Syria, new year's curricula? – ANHA {{!}} Ajansa Nûçeyan a Hawar |url=http://hawarnews.com/en/haber/what-is-reality-of-educational-process-in-north-syria-new-years-curricula-h4282.html |website=hawarnews.com |access-date=14 October 2018 |archive-date=14 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014164955/http://hawarnews.com/en/haber/what-is-reality-of-educational-process-in-north-syria-new-years-curricula-h4282.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In general, schools are encouraged to teach the administration's "uptopian doctrine" which promotes diversity, democracy, and the ideas of [[Abdullah Öcalan]].{{sfnp|Zabad|2017|p=219}}{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=110–111}} Local reactions to the changes to the school system and curriculum were mixed. While many praised the new system because it encouraged tolerance and allowed Kurds and other minorities to be taught in their own languages,{{sfnp|Zabad|2017|p=219}} others have criticised it as ''de facto'' compulsory indoctrination.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=111–112}}
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).<ref name=k24education>{{cite web|url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/dfa4b335-fe1c-4a3c-b5b6-7bc5848e9e97/Kurds-establish-university-in-Rojava-amid-Syrian-instability|title=Kurds establish university in Rojava amid Syrian instability|publisher=Kurdistan24|date=7 July 2016|access-date=7 July 2016|archive-date=18 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718115201/http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/dfa4b335-fe1c-4a3c-b5b6-7bc5848e9e97/Kurds-establish-university-in-Rojava-amid-Syrian-instability|url-status=live}}</ref>
For Assyrian private confessional schools there had at first been no changes.<ref name=syriaclanguage /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/news/20151221023437.htm|title=The Assyrians of Syria: History and Prospects|publisher=AINA|date=21 December 2015|access-date=18 May 2016|archive-date=15 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515063831/http://www.aina.org/news/20151221023437.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Christians, Kurds at Odds Over Syria School Curriculum |url=https://alshahidwitness.com/christians-kurds-syria-curriculum/ |website=Al Shahid News |date=13 September 2018 |access-date=14 September 2018 |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327091732/https://alshahidwitness.com/christians-kurds-syria-curriculum/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Why Did the Kurdish "Self-Management" Close the Syriac Private School in Eastern al-Hasakah? |url=https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2018/08/why-did-the-kurdish-self-management-close-the-syriac-private-school-in-eastern-al-hasakah/ |website=Enab Baladi |date=11 August 2018 |access-date=3 September 2018 |archive-date=18 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618151758/https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2018/08/why-did-the-kurdish-self-management-close-the-syriac-private-school-in-eastern-al-hasakah/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=By Rudaw |title=Rojava authority's efforts to provide Syriac education met with resistance |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/300820181 |publisher=Rudaw |access-date=3 September 2018 |archive-date=18 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618151949/http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/300820181 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Wladimir van Wilgenburg |title=Syrian Kurds open church in Kobani, once besieged by IS |url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/36aacc2b-4dbd-4d85-9d36-68c1a15aaffb |publisher=Kurdistan24 |access-date=21 September 2018 |archive-date=22 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922024739/http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/36aacc2b-4dbd-4d85-9d36-68c1a15aaffb |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Delil Souleiman |title=Syriacs protest Kurdish authorities over Syria school curriculum |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/kurds-christians-split-over-syria-school-curriculum-041427147.html |publisher=Yahoo News |access-date=21 September 2018 |archive-date=21 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621152808/https://www.yahoo.com/news/kurds-christians-split-over-syria-school-curriculum-041427147.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===Higher education===
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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.<ref name=utopia/> More such academies designed under a non-traditional academic philosophy and concept are in the process of founding or planning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://new-compass.net/articles/revolutionary-education-rojava|title=Revolutionary Education in Rojava|publisher=New Compass|date=17 February 2015|access-date=18 May 2016|archive-date=21 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621051923/http://new-compass.net/articles/revolutionary-education-rojava|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/kurds-rojava-afrin-first-university-ideology-ocalan.html|title=Syria's first Kurdish university attracts controversy as well as students|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=18 May 2016|access-date=19 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521193644/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/kurds-rojava-afrin-first-university-ideology-ocalan.html|archive-date=21 May 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> After the Turkish army invaded Afrin in 2018, several of it students were transferred to the [[University of Rojava]] in Qamishli.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|date=29 June 2018|title=Afrin University students continuing their studies at Rojava's University|url=http://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/afrin-university-students-continuing-their-studies-at-rojavas-university-h2239.html|access-date=2021-07-03|website=[[Hawar News Agency]]|language=en|archive-date=3 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803074340/http://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/afrin-university-students-continuing-their-studies-at-rojavas-university-h2239.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 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, computer and agricultural engineering; physics, chemistry, history, psychology, geography, mathematics and primary school teaching and Kurdish literature.<ref name=k24education/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anfenglish.com/kurdistan/university-of-rojava-to-be-opened|title='University of Rojava' to be opened|publisher=ANF|date=4 July 2016|access-date=4 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104144550/http://www.anfenglish.com/kurdistan/university-of-rojava-to-be-opened|archive-date=4 January 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> There is an additional Faculty for Petroleum and Pharmacology in [[Rmelan]].<ref name=":5" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/08/rojava-university-seeks-eliminate-constraints-education-syrias-kurdish-region/|title=Rojava university seeks to eliminate constraints on education in Syria's Kurdish region|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=15 August 2016|access-date=15 August 2016|archive-date=28 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828182907/http://aranews.net/2016/08/rojava-university-seeks-eliminate-constraints-education-syrias-kurdish-region|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* In August 2016 [[Jazira Canton]] police forces [[Battle of al-Hasakah (2016)|took control]] of the remaining parts of [[Al-Hasakah|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.
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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,{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=99, 113}}<ref name=FreedomHouse2015>{{cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/syria|title=Syria Country report, Freedom of the Press 2015|work=Freedom House|date=2015|access-date=9 July 2016|archive-date=11 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711061821/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/syria|url-status=dead}}</ref> in each of the [[Kurdish languages|Kurdish]], [[Arabic]], [[Eastern Aramaic languages|Syriac-Aramaic]] and [[Turkish language|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/05/blow-kurdish-independent-media-syrian-kurdish-website-shuts/|title=In blow to Kurdish independent media, Syrian Kurdish website shuts down|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=15 May 2016|access-date=9 July 2016|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021223915/http://aranews.net/2016/05/blow-kurdish-independent-media-syrian-kurdish-website-shuts/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition, the autonomous regions have imposed some limits on press freedom, for example forcing the press to get work permits. These can be cancelled, thereby curtailing the ability of certain press agencies to operate. However, the extent of these restrictions differed greatly from area to area. By 2016, Kobani Canton was the least restrictive, followed by Jazira Canton which closely monitored and occasionally regulated press activity.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=99}} Afrin Canton was the most restrictive, and many local reporters operated anonymously.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=114}}
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/b2cd5731-94cf-4181-94bf-debfa4208992/Syria%E2%80%99s-first-Kurdish-radio-station-burnt|title=Syria's first Kurdish radio station burnt|publisher=Kurdistan24|date=27 April 2016|access-date=6 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/04/syrian-kurdish-administration-condemns-burning-radio-arta-fm-office-amude/|title=Syrian Kurdish administration condemns burning of radio ARTA FM office in Amude|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=27 April 2016|access-date=9 July 2016|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021223912/http://aranews.net/2016/04/syrian-kurdish-administration-condemns-burning-radio-arta-fm-office-amude/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In December 2018 the Rojava Information Center was established.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/12/syria-rojava-information-center-journalists-report-conflict.html|title=Rojava Information Center, a media bridge to the world outside|last=Bellingreri|first=Marta|date=24 December 2019|website=Al-Monitor|access-date=29 March 2020|archive-date=6 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306134236/https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/12/syria-rojava-information-center-journalists-report-conflict.html|url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[Turkish military operation in Afrin]], the [[Kurdistan Democratic Party|KDP]]-affiliated Iraqi Kurdish [[Rudaw Media Network]] was also banned from reporting in the region.<ref>{{cite web |last1=By Rudaw |title=Rudaw expresses regret over ban by Kobani authorities in Syria |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/250220161 |website=Rudaw |access-date=22 September 2018 |archive-date=18 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618170338/http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/250220161 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 2 September 2019, the [[Iraqi Kurdistan]]-based [[Kurdistan 24]] network had its license to work in the region withdrawn and had its offices confiscated by Rojava authorities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/e9639851-d3aa-42c4-962b-7a04e733e3bf|title=Statement from Kurdistan 24 Company for Media and Research Ltd.|last=Kurdistan24|website=Kurdistan24|access-date=2 September 2019|archive-date=2 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902180754/https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/e9639851-d3aa-42c4-962b-7a04e733e3bf|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=FreedomHouse2015 /> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://syriannewscenter.net/ar/article/23775-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AA-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-10-%D8%A3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%85.html |script-title=ar:انترنت في الحسكة والقامشلي خلال 10 أيام |publisher=syriannewscenter.net |language=ar-sy |date=12 January 2017 |access-date=13 January 2017 |archive-date=15 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170115012539/http://syriannewscenter.net/ar/article/23775-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AA-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-10-%D8%A3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%85.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===The arts===
[[File:Tev-Cand.jpg|thumb|Children in (AANES) school curriculum children learning to play [[Musical instrument|instrument]]s and 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/07/syria-kurdish-rojava-revolutionary-art.html|title=Kurdish art, music flourish as regime fades from northeast Syria|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=19 July 2016|access-date=20 July 2016|archive-date=20 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720165914/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/07/syria-kurdish-rojava-revolutionary-art.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |script-title=ar:هيئة الثقافة تفتتح معرضاً في سري كانيه بالحسكة|url=http://aranews.org/2015/09/هيئة-الثقافة-تفتتح-معرضاً-في-سري-كانيه/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913011724/http://aranews.org/2015/09/%d9%87%d9%8a%d8%a6%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ab%d9%82%d8%a7%d9%81%d8%a9-%d8%aa%d9%81%d8%aa%d8%aa%d8%ad-%d9%85%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%b6%d8%a7%d9%8b-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%b3%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d9%83%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a%d9%87/|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 September 2015|agency=ARA News|date=12 September 2015|language=ar}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/3cfd84f7-b2fb-4370-a8b0-67fcfadbb58f/Syrian-Kurds-hold-theatre-festival-in-Rojava-amid-war|title=Syrian Kurds hold theatre festival in Rojava amid war|publisher=[[Kurdistan24]]|date=April 2017|access-date=19 April 2017|archive-date=28 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428050915/http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/3cfd84f7-b2fb-4370-a8b0-67fcfadbb58f/Syrian-Kurds-hold-theatre-festival-in-Rojava-amid-war|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Economy==
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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 [[Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016)|fighting in Aleppo city]] from 2012 to 2016. [[Price controls]] are managed by local committees, which can set the price of basic goods such as food and medical goods.<ref name="diclenews.com">{{cite web|url=http://diclenews.com/en/news/content/view/436354|title=Efrîn Economy Minister Yousef: Rojava challenging norms of class, gender and power|website=Diclenews.com|access-date=18 February 2015|archive-date=18 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118203533/http://diclenews.com/en/news/content/view/436354|url-status=dead}}</ref>
It has been theorized that the Assad government had deliberately underdeveloped parts of Northern Syria in order to Arabize the region and make secession attempts less likely.<ref name=pkk/> During the Syrian Civil War, the infrastructure of the region 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, stated 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.<ref name="Will Syria's Kurds succeed at self-sufficiency?">{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/04/kurdish-areas-norther-syria-economy-self-sufficiency.html|title=Will Syria's Kurds succeed at self-sufficiency?|date=3 May 2016|access-date=18 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508233809/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/04/kurdish-areas-norther-syria-economy-self-sufficiency.html|archive-date=8 May 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2014, the Syrian government was still paying some state employees,<ref name= ICG1>{{cite web |title=Flight of Icarus? The PYD's Precarious Rise in Syria |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf |publisher=International Crisis Group |access-date=3 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220181554/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/151-flight-of-icarus-the-pyd-s-precarious-rise-in-syria.pdf |archive-date=20 February 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> but fewer than before.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zamanalwsl.net/news/article/en/7359|title=| زمان الوصل|website=Zamanalwsl.net|access-date=4 December 2021|archive-date=4 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204161549/https://www.zamanalwsl.net/news/article/en/7359|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the administration of the region stated that "none of our projects are financed by the regime".<ref name="Efrîn_Economy Minister_interview">{{cite news|title=Efrîn Economy Minister: Rojava Challenging Norms Of Class, Gender And Power|url=https://rojavareport.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/efrin-economy-minister-rojava-challenging-norms-of-class-gender-and-power/|date=22 December 2014|access-date=11 January 2015|archive-date=11 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111234252/https://rojavareport.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/efrin-economy-minister-rojava-challenging-norms-of-class-gender-and-power/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Sustaniable Micro irrigation in Northern Syria.jpg|thumb|Sustainable [[micro-irrigation]] system in Syria created by the AANES in southern Afrin.]]
At first, there were no [[Direct tax|direct]] or [[indirect tax]]es on people or businesses in the region; instead, the administration raised money mainly through [[tariff]]s and selling oil and other natural resources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biehlonbookchin.com/poor-in-means/|title=Poor in means but rich in spirit|work=Ecology or Catastrophe|access-date=18 February 2015|archive-date=25 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225093300/http://www.biehlonbookchin.com/poor-in-means/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="diclenews.com"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Wladimir van Wilgenburg |title=Rojava Administration to Impose Tax System in Northern Syria |url=https://mesopotamia.coop/rojava-administration-to-impose-tax-system-in-northern-syria/ |website=Co-operation in Mesopotamia |date=11 July 2017 |access-date=22 September 2018 |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327161801/https://mesopotamia.coop/rojava-administration-to-impose-tax-system-in-northern-syria/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In May 2016, The ''[[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that traders in Syria experience the region as "the one place where they aren't forced to pay bribes."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-syrias-mangled-economy-truckers-stitch-together-warring-regions-1464106368|title=In Syria's Mangled Economy, Truckers Stitch Together Warring Regions
The main sources of revenue for the autonomous region have been presented as: 1. Public properties such as grain silos and oil and gas in the Jazira Region, 2. Local taxation and customs fees taken at the border crossings, 3. Service delivery, 4. Remittances from Iraq and Turkey, and 5. Local donations. In 2015, the autonomous administration shared information about the region's finances where its 2014 revenue was about LS 3 billion (≈US$5.8 million) of 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 was a reserve for the next year.<ref name=omran2018/> The AANES has by far the highest average [[salaries]] and [[standard of living]] throughout Syria, with salaries being twice as large as in regime-controlled Syria, following the collapse of the [[Syrian pound]] the AANES doubled salaries to maintain [[inflation]], and allow for good wages.<ref>{{cite web |date=9 August 2021 |title=Syrian Kurdish region increases salaries amid currency crash |url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/18062020 |access-date=13 June 2022 |website=[[Rudaw]] |archive-date=5 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705161639/https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/18062020 |url-status=live }}</ref> The AANES still faces challenges with distribution, [[food security]], and [[healthcare]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/20012021|title=Renewed water shortages hit Hasaka|website=Rudaw.net|access-date=4 December 2021|archive-date=22 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022230211/https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/20012021|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n03/patrick-cockburn/after-is|title=After IS|first=Patrick|last=Cockburn|journal=London Review of Books|date=4 February 2021|volume=43|issue=3|access-date=30 January 2021|archive-date=1 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201101018/https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n03/patrick-cockburn/after-is|url-status=live}}</ref>
===External economic relations===
{{See also|Foreign relations of North and East Syria}}
[[File:The pontoon bridge at Semalka.jpg|thumb|[[Border crossing]] at [[Semalka Border Crossing|Semalka]] between [[Iraqi Kurdistan government]] and the AANES on the [[Tigris]] river.]]
Oil and food production is substantial,<ref name=Econ1>{{cite news
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,<ref name=open>{{cite news|title=US welcomes opening of border between Rojava and Iraqi Kurdistan|url=http://aranews.net/2016/06/us-welcomes-opening-border-rojava-iraqi-kurdistan/|publisher=ARA News|date=10 June 2016|access-date=10 June 2016|archive-date=10 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610162132/http://aranews.net/2016/06/us-welcomes-opening-border-rojava-iraqi-kurdistan/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/economy/1b332ce0-5791-4ca1-9bc1-1603fb830879/Business-booming-in-Rojava-after-outlet-opened-with-Kurdistan-Region|title=Business booming in Rojava after outlet opened with Kurdistan Region|date=22 April 2017|publisher=Kurdistan24|access-date=20 May 2017|archive-date=28 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428200020/http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/economy/1b332ce0-5791-4ca1-9bc1-1603fb830879/Business-booming-in-Rojava-after-outlet-opened-with-Kurdistan-Region|url-status=live}}</ref> and along with the establishment of a corridor to Syrian government controlled territory in April 2017,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://aranews.net/2017/06/first-aid-convoy-arrives-rojava-new-land-corridor/|title=First aid convoy arrives in Rojava through new land corridor|publisher=ARA News|date=26 June 2017|access-date=30 June 2017|archive-date=28 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628070501/http://aranews.net/2017/06/first-aid-convoy-arrives-rojava-new-land-corridor/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-syria-idUSKBN18P1C0|title=Iran-backed Iraqi force says takes Islamic State villages near Syria|work=Reuters|date=29 May 2017|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502025039/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-syria-idUSKBN18P1C0|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iraq-paramilitaries-move-key-town-syrian-border-47700766|title=Iraq paramilitaries reach Iraq's border with Syria|work=ABC News|date=29 May 2017|access-date=28 June 2020|archive-date=8 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608220437/http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iraq-paramilitaries-move-key-town-syrian-border-47700766|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.iraqinews.com/arab-world-news/pkk-planning-open-trade-route-rojava-iraq/|title=PKK planning to open trade route between Rojava and Iraq|publisher=Iraqi News|date=4 June 2017|access-date=4 June 2017|archive-date=8 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608084946/http://www.iraqinews.com/arab-world-news/pkk-planning-open-trade-route-rojava-iraq/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Economy policy framework===
{{See also|Collective farming}}
[[File:Rojava Sewing Cooperative.jpg|thumb|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 have been described as pursuing a model of economy that blends co-operative and private enterprise.<ref name=vancouver>{{cite web|url=http://www.vancouverobserver.com/opinion/rojava-syria-revolution-hope-and-healing|title=Rojava, Syria: A revolution of hope and healing|publisher=[[Vancouver Observer]]|date=19 April 2017|access-date=19 April 2017|archive-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424052804/http://www.vancouverobserver.com/opinion/rojava-syria-revolution-hope-and-healing|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2012, the PYD launched what it called the "Social Economy Plan", later renamed the "People's Economy Plan" (PEP).<ref>{{cite book|title=A Small Key Can Open a Large Door: The Rojava Revolution|date=4 March 2015|publisher=Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness|edition=1st}}</ref> [[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."<ref>Michael Knapp, [https://mesopotamia.coop/rojava-the-formation-of-an-economic-alternative-private-property-in-the-service-of-all/ 'Rojava{{snd}} the formation of an economic alternative: Private property in the service of all'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416181451/https://mesopotamia.coop/rojava-the-formation-of-an-economic-alternative-private-property-in-the-service-of-all/ |date=16 April 2021 }}.</ref> Communes and co-operatives have been established to provide essentials.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cooperativeeconomy.info/how-do-cooperatives-work-in-rojava/|title=How do cooperatives work in Rojava?|work=cooperativeeconomy.info|date=19 November 2016|access-date=16 January 2017|archive-date=18 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118035058/https://cooperativeeconomy.info/how-do-cooperatives-work-in-rojava/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=vancouver /> Several hundred instances of [[collective farming]] occurred across towns and villages in the region, with communes consisting of approximately 20–35 people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sange.fi/kvsolidaarisuustyo/wp-content/uploads/Dr.-Ahmad-Yousef-Social-economy-in-Rojava.pdf|title=Rojava experience of the social economy : reality and prospects|author=Dr. Ahmad Yousef|website=Sange.fi|access-date=25 April 2018|archive-date=9 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009203955/http://sange.fi/kvsolidaarisuustyo/wp-content/uploads/Dr.-Ahmad-Yousef-Social-economy-in-Rojava.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> 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' council]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Small Key Can Open a Large Door: The Rojava Revolution|date=4 March 2015|publisher=Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness|edition=1st|quote=According to Dr. Ahmad Yousef, an economic co-minister, three-quarters of traditional private property is being used as commons and one quarter is still being owned by use of individuals...According to the Ministry of Economics, worker councils have only been set up for about one third of the enterprises in Rojava so far.}}</ref>
==Law and security==
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===Legal system===
Syrian civil laws are valid in the region if they do not conflict with the Constitution of the autonomous region. One example for amendment is personal status law, which in Syria is based on [[Sharia]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Syria|url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/Syria_APS.doc|publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|page=13|access-date=16 November 2016|archive-date=18 January 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060118223456/http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/Syria_APS.doc|url-status=live}}</ref> and applied by [[Sharia#Court_procedures|Sharia Courts]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/islamic-family-law/home/research/legal-profiles/syria-syrian-arab-republic/|title=Islamic Family Law: Syria (Syrian Arab Republic)|publisher=Law.emory.edu|access-date=16 November 2016|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224161046/https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/islamic-family-law/home/research/legal-profiles/syria-syrian-arab-republic/|url-status=live}}</ref> while the [[Secularism|secular]] autonomous region proclaims absolute equality of women under the law, allowing [[civil marriage]] and banning [[forced marriage]], [[polygamy]]{{sfnp|Zabad|2017|pp=156–163}}<ref name=jolie>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37337908|title=Kurdish 'Angelina Jolie' devalued by media hype|work=BBC|date=12 September 2016|access-date=12 September 2016|archive-date=5 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205151921/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37337908|url-status=live}}</ref> and underage marriage.<ref name=underage>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/11/syrian-kurds-tackle-underage-marriages-polygamy/|title=Syrian Kurds tackle conscription, underage marriages and polygamy|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=15 November 2016|access-date=16 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116150435/http://aranews.net/2016/11/syrian-kurds-tackle-underage-marriages-polygamy/|archive-date=16 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Magpie|first=Jo|title=Regaining hope in Rojava|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/regaining-hope-in-rojava/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-21|website=[[Open Democracy]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910000045/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/regaining-hope-in-rojava/ |archive-date=10 September 2019 }}</ref>
A new criminal justice approach was implemented that emphasizes [[restorative justice|restoration]] over retribution.<ref name="Financial Times">{{cite web|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/50102294-77fd-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html|title=Power to the people: a Syrian experiment in democracy|work=Financial Times|date=23 October 2015|access-date=6 June 2016|archive-date=25 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025032533/http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/50102294-77fd-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The death penalty was abolished.<ref name="The New Justice System in Rojava">{{cite web|url=http://www.biehlonbookchin.com/justice-system-in-rojava/|title=The New Justice System in Rojava|first=Ercan|last=Ayboğa|translator-first=Janet|translator-last=Biehl|translator-link=Janet Biehl|publisher=biehlonbookchin.com|date=13 October 2014|access-date=6 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015101028/http://www.biehlonbookchin.com/justice-system-in-rojava/|archive-date=15 October 2014}}</ref> Prisons house mostly people charged with terrorist activity related to ISIL and other extremist groups.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian Kurds Get Outside Help to Manage Prisons
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).<ref name="The New Justice System in Rojava"/>
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Policing in the region is performed by the [[Asayish (Syria)|Asayish]] armed formation. Asayish was established on 25 July 2013 to fill the gap of security when the Syrian security forces withdrew.<ref name="asayish">{{cite news|title=Rojava Asayish: Security institution not above but within the society|url=http://www.anfenglish.com/features/rojava-asayish-security-institution-not-above-but-within-the-society|access-date=6 June 2016|publisher=ANF|date=6 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924211035/http://www.anfenglish.com/features/rojava-asayish-security-institution-not-above-but-within-the-society|archive-date=24 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name="asayish"/>
Throughout the region, the municipal Civilian Defense Forces (HPC)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://modernslavery.calpress.org/?p=949|title=Rojava Dispatch Six: Innovations, the Formation of the Hêza Parastina Cewherî (HPC)|date=31 October 2015
===Militias===
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[[File:HXP in 2016 (3).jpg|thumb|left|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]] (''{{lang|ku|Yekîneyên Parastina Gel}}'', YPG). The YPG was founded by the [[Democratic Union Party (Syria)|PYD]] after the [[2004 Qamishli riots|2004 Qamishli clashes]], but was first active in the Syrian Civil War.<ref name=Vice>{{cite web |last = Gold |first = Danny |url = https://www.vice.com/read/meet-the-ypg |title = Meet the YPG, the Kurdish Militia That Doesn't Want Help from Anyone |work = Vice |date = 31 October 2010 |access-date = 9 October 2014 |archive-date = 13 April 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160413210952/http://www.vice.com/read/meet-the-ypg |url-status = live }}</ref> There is also the [[Syriac Military Council]] (MFS), an Assyrian militia associated with the [[Syriac Union Party (Syria)|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-Defense Forces (NES regions)|Self-Defence Forces]] (HXP) is a territorial defense militia and the only conscript armed force in the region.<ref>{{Cite
=== Human rights ===
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[[File:Husseiniya village.png|thumb|upright=0.8|Satellite images of the village of [[Husseiniya, Syria|Husseiniya]] in 2014 and 2015, reportedly leveled by the YPG. ]]
In the course of the Syrian Civil War, including the years 2014 and 2015, reports by [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) and [[Amnesty International]] stated that [[Human rights in North and East Syria#NES-associated militias|militias associated with the autonomous region]] were committing war crimes, in particular members of the [[People's Protection Units]] (YPG).<ref>{{cite web|date=18 June 2014|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|title=
[[File:Yezidi House.jpg|thumb|SDF [[Yazidis]] praying in a Yazidi temple, with a mural of the holy [[Melek Taus]], in AANES (Rojava) following the expulsion of [[ISIS]]]]
The region's civil government has been hailed in international media for human rights advancement in particular [[Human rights in North and East Syria#Human rights development in the legal system|in the legal system]], concerning [[Human rights in North and East Syria#Women's rights|women's rights]], [[Human rights in North and East Syria#Ethnic minority rights|ethnic minority rights]], [[Human rights in North and East Syria#Freedom of Speech and Press|freedom of Speech and Press]] and for [[Human rights in North and East Syria#Hosting inbound refugees|hosting inbound refugees]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/syrian-kurds-women-equal-rights-snubbing-jihadists-193905057.html|title=Syrian Kurds give women equal rights, snubbing jihadists|publisher=Yahoo|date=9 November 2014|access-date=13 November 2016|archive-date=13 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113175819/https://www.yahoo.com/news/syrian-kurds-women-equal-rights-snubbing-jihadists-193905057.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/50102294-77fd-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html|title=Power to the people: a Syrian experiment in democracy|work=Financial Times|date=23 October 2015|access-date=6 June 2016|archive-date=25 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025032533/http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/50102294-77fd-11e5-a95a-27d368e1ddf7.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=meredith/><ref name=Sheppard /> The political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.<ref name=underage /> Conscription into the [[Self-Defense Forces (NES regions)|Self-Defence Forces]] (HXP) has been called a human rights violation by those who call the region's institutions illegitimate, whilst extra-legal abduction into military service has been reported, such as in 2014 when a 15 year-old-girl was kidnapped and recruited into the [[Women's Protection Units|YPJ]].<ref name=assyrian-accuses>{{cite news|url=http://aranews.net/2016/03/assyrian-leader-accuses-pyd-monopolizing-power-syrias-north/|publisher=ARA|title=Assyrian leader accuses PYD of monopolizing power in Syria's north|date=23 March 2016|access-date=22 October 2016|archive-date=6 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106210654/http://aranews.net/2016/03/assyrian-leader-accuses-pyd-monopolizing-power-syrias-north/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Al-Jabassini |first=Abdullah |date=December 2017 |title=Civil Resistance to Military Conscription in Kurdish Areas of Northern Syria: the Untold Story |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48603196 |journal=Journal of Peacebuilding and Development |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=106 |doi=10.1080/15423166.2017.1371064 |jstor=48603196 |via=JSTOR}}</ref>
Some persistent issues in the region concern [[Human rights in North and East Syria#Ethnic minority rights|ethnic minority rights]]. One issue of contention is the consequence of [[Human rights in North and East Syria#Confiscation of Kurdish land and settlement by Arabs|Baathist Syrian government's expropriation]] of land from Kurdish owners and settling of tribal Arabs there in 1973 and 2007.<ref name="OHCHR-2009"/><ref name=HRW1996 /><ref name="CSmonitor-2005" /> There have been calls to expel the settlers and return the land to its previous owners, which has led the political leadership of the region to press the Syrian government for a comprehensive solution.<ref name="Al-Monitor">{{cite web|title=Syria rejects Russian proposal for Kurdish federation|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/turkey-russia-mediates-between-kurds-and-assad.html|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=24 October 2016|access-date=26 October 2016|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019130318/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/10/turkey-russia-mediates-between-kurds-and-assad.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
During the ongoing Syrian Civil War, organizations such as the Turkish government,<ref>{{cite news|title=Turkey accuses Kurdish forces of 'ethnic cleansing' in Syria|url=https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-accuses-kurdish-forces-ethnic-cleansing-syria-093148734.html|date=16 June 2015|agency=Agence France-Presse|quote=President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said he was troubled by the advance of Kurdish forces, saying they could in the future create a structure to threaten Turkey.|access-date=27 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105202740/https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-accuses-kurdish-forces-ethnic-cleansing-syria-093148734.html|archive-date=5 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Amnesty International<ref>{{cite news|title= Syria: US ally's razing of villages amounts to war crimes|url= https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/syria-us-allys-razing-of-villages-amounts-to-war-crimes/|publisher= Amnesty International|date= 13 October 2015|access-date= 13 October 2015|archive-date= 21 November 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151121071122/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/syria-us-allys-razing-of-villages-amounts-to-war-crimes/|url-status= live}}</ref> and the Middle East Observer<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria: Kurdish militias plan a demographic change in Manbij|url=https://www.middleeastobserver.org/2016/08/14/syria-kurdish-militias-plan-a-demographic-change-in-manbij/|publisher=Middle East Observer|date=14 August 2016|access-date=26 May 2019|archive-date=26 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526223319/https://www.middleeastobserver.org/2016/08/14/syria-kurdish-militias-plan-a-demographic-change-in-manbij/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Tal Abyad: Achilles Heel of the Syrian Kurdish Belt|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/tal-abyad-achilles-heel-of-the-syrian-kurdish-belt|publisher=Middle East Observer|date=21 December 2018|access-date=26 May 2019|archive-date=17 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217084951/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/tal-abyad-achilles-heel-of-the-syrian-kurdish-belt|url-status=live}}</ref> have stated that SDF was forcibly displacing inhabitants of captured areas with predominantly Arab population such as Tell Abyad. These displacements were considered attempts at [[ethnic cleansing]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian Kurds accused of ethnic cleansing and killing opponents|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/18/syrian-kurds-accused-of-ethnic-cleansing-and-killing-opponents/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/18/syrian-kurds-accused-of-ethnic-cleansing-and-killing-opponents/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=The Telegraph|date=18 May 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, the head of the [[Syrian Observatory for Human Rights]] rebutted these reports<ref name="Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker">{{cite web|url=https://www.gfbv.de/en/news/theres-no-ethnic-cleansing-in-til-abyad-against-the-turkmen-and-arabic-population-7568/|title=''"There's no 'ethnic cleansing' in Til Abyad against the Turkmen and Arabic population."'', Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker, 26. Juni 2015|website=GFBV.de|access-date=27 May 2019|archive-date=24 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424045725/https://www.gfbv.de/en/news/theres-no-ethnic-cleansing-in-til-abyad-against-the-turkmen-and-arabic-population-7568/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry find no evidence of YPG or SDF forces committing ethnic cleansing in order to change the demographic composition of territories under their control.<ref name=":4">{{cite news|date=10 March 2017|title=Syria, Report by UN Commission of Inquiry (March 2017)|work=[[International Committee of the Red Cross]]|url=https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/syria-report-un-commission-inquiry-march-2017|access-date=27 May 2019|archive-date=27 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527220225/https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/syria-report-un-commission-inquiry-march-2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Demographics==
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[[File:Kurdish YPG Fighter (23306158716).jpg|thumb|A [[YPJ]] soldier next to a large [[reservoir]] in Northern Syria]]
The demographics of the region have historically been highly diverse, with several major shifts in regard to which groups form majorities or minorities in the last centuries.{{efn|Since at least the early Middle Ages, northern Syria has been settled by a mixed population of Arabs,{{sfnp|Retso|2003|p=480}}{{sfnp|Morton|2020|p=167}} Turkmen,{{sfnp|Morton|2020|p=167}} Kurds,{{sfnp|Morton|2020|p=167}}{{sfnp|Vanly|1992|p=116|ps=: "To the east of Kurd-Dagh and separated from it by the Afrin valley lies the western and mountainous part of the Syrian district of Azaz which is also inhabited by Kurds, and a Kurdish minority lives in the northern counties of Idlib and Jerablos. There is reason to believe that the establishment of Kurds in these areas, a defensive site commanding the path to Antioch, goes back to the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] era."}}{{sfnp|Meri|2006|p=445}} and Christian ethnoreligious groups including [[Assyrian people]].{{sfnp|Morton|2020|pp=122–123, 167}} Arab nomads came to dominate the region after the [[Ikhshidid dynasty]]'s decline in the 10th century.{{sfnp|Meri|2006|p=445}} During the [[Ottoman Empire]] (1516–1922), large [[Kurdish languages|Kurdish-speaking]] tribal groups both settled in and were deported to areas of northern Syria from [[Anatolia]].{{sfnp|Tejel|2009|p=123}} In addition, Cherkessians farmers migrated to northern Syria in the 19th century.{{sfnp|Meri|2006|p=713}} }} The [[Al-Hasakah Governorate]] historically been the domain of nomad and sedentary Arabs.<ref name="fevret">{{cite journal|last=Fevret|first=Maurice
Under the French Mandate of Syria, newly arriving Kurds were granted citizenship by [[French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French Mandate authorities]]<ref name="Chatty2010"/> and enjoyed considerable rights as the French Mandate authority encouraged minority autonomy as part of a [[divide and rule]] strategy and recruited heavily from the Kurds and other minority groups, such as [[Alawite]] and [[Druze]], for its local armed forces.<ref name=Yildiz25>{{cite book|last=Yildiz|first=Kerim|title=The Kurds in Syria : the forgotten people|year=2005|publisher=Pluto Press, in association with Kurdish Human Rights Project|location=London [etc.]|page=25|isbn=0745324991|edition=1. publ.}}</ref> The last significant wave of Kurdish incoming migration from Turkey happened between 1945 and 1961 which strongly contributed to the growth of al-Hasakah Governorate's population from 240,000 to 305,000 between 1954 and 1961.<ref>McDowall, David. Modern History of the Kurds, I. B. Tauris & Company, Limited, 2004. pp. 473–474.</ref> In addition to the demographic changes brought about by the Kurdish immigration from Turkey, the Syrian government initiated Arabization policy. Therefore, 4000 Arab families from areas flooded by the Tabqa Dam in Raqqa and Aleppo were resettled in new village in al-Hasakah Governorate.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=27}}<ref name=HRW1996/>
Another shift in modern times was the Baath policy of settling additional Arab population in northern Syria, while displacing local Kurds.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=27}}<ref name=HRW1996/> 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.<ref name=Sheppard>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/10/kurds-rojava-syria-isis-iraq-assad/505037/|title=What the Syrian Kurds Have Wrought. The radical, unlikely, democratic experiment in northern Syria|author=Si Sheppard|publisher=The Atlantic|date=25 October 2016|access-date=25 October 2016|archive-date=26 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026075957/http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/10/kurds-rojava-syria-isis-iraq-assad/505037/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian Kurds provide safe haven for thousands of Iraqis fleeing ISIS|url=http://aranews.net/2016/07/syrian-kurds-provide-safe-haven-thousands-iraqis-fleeing-isis/|access-date=2 July 2016|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=3 July 2016|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019170008/http://aranews.net/2016/07/syrian-kurds-provide-safe-haven-thousands-iraqis-fleeing-isis/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Rojava hosts thousands of displaced Iraqi civilians as war on ISIS intensifies|url=http://aranews.net/2016/10/rojava-hosts-thousands-of-displaced-iraqi-civilians-as-war-on-isis-intensifies/|access-date=18 October 2016|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=17 October 2016|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021073557/http://aranews.net/2016/10/rojava-hosts-thousands-of-displaced-iraqi-civilians-as-war-on-isis-intensifies/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name=washingtoninstitute1/> As result of the civil war, estimates as to the ethnic composition of northern Syria vary widely, ranging from claims about a Kurdish majority and Arab minority to claims about Kurds being a small minority;{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=7–16}} [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]] stated in October 2019 that just 10 percent of the 4.5 million inhabitants of northern and northeastern Syria were Kurds.<ref>{{cite web|title='We're Arabs just as much as Kurds': Syrian Kurds call for unity|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/arabs-kurds-syrian-kurds-call-unity-191016203957105.html|website=Al Jazeera|access-date=1 July 2020|archive-date=3 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703144415/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/arabs-kurds-syrian-kurds-call-unity-191016203957105.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Ethnic groups ===
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Two ethnic groups have a significant presence throughout Northern Syria:
*'''[[Kurds]]''' are an [[ethnic group]]<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4555000.stm Killing of Iraq Kurds 'genocide'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728132055/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4555000.stm |date=28 July 2011 }}, ''[[BBC]]'', "The Dutch court said it considered "legally and convincingly proven that the Kurdish population meets requirement under Genocide Conventions as an ethnic group"."</ref> living in northeastern and northwestern Syria, culturally and linguistically classified among the [[Iranian peoples]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Kurds.html
*'''[[Arabs]]''' are an [[ethnic group]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Culturally Sensitive Social Work Practice with Arab Clients in Mental Health Settings|url=http://www.socialworkers.org/pressroom/events/911/alkrenawi.asp|website=Socialworkers.org|access-date=3 April 2017|archive-date=13 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913230624/http://www.socialworkers.org/pressroom/events/911/alkrenawi.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Shoup|first1=John A.|title=Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia|date=31 October 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781598843620|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPBfnT_E1mgC|access-date=3 April 2017|archive-date=10 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110222117/https://books.google.com/books?id=SPBfnT_E1mgC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPBfnT_E1mgC&pg=PA16
Two ethnic groups have a significant presence in certain regions of Northern Syria:
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*Carl Skutsch, Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities, p. 149
*[[Farzad Sharifian]], René Dirven, Ning Yu, Susanne Niemeier, Culture, Body, and Language: Conceptualizations of Internal Body Organs across Cultures and Languages, p. 268
*UNPO Assyria</ref> There are many Assyrians among recent refugees to Northern Syria, fleeing Islamist violence elsewhere in Syria back to their traditional lands.<ref>{{cite news|title=Glavin: In Iraq and Syria, it's too little, too late|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/iraq-and-syria-too-little-too-late|access-date=7 May 2016|work=Ottawa Citizen|date=14 November 2014|archive-date=17 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617110929/https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/iraq-and-syria-too-little-too-late|url-status=live}}</ref> In the secular polyethnic political climate of the region, the [[Dawronoye]] modernization movement has a growing influence on Assyrian identity in the 21st century.<ref name=Dawronoye/>
*'''[[Syrian Turkmen|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.
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The four main languages spoken in Northern Syria are the following, and are from three different language families:
*[[Kurdish languages|Kurdish]] (in [[Northern Kurdish]] dialect), a [[Western Iranian languages|Northwestern Iranian language]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kurdish-language-i|title=HISTORY OF THE KURDISH LANGUAGE|publisher=Encyclopædia Iranica|last1=Foundation
*[[Arabic language|Arabic]] in the [[North Mesopotamian Arabic]] dialect ([[Modern Standard Arabic]] in education and writing), a [[Central Semitic language]] from the [[Semitic languages|Semitic branch]] of the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic language family]].
*[[Eastern Aramaic languages]] mainly in the [[Turoyo]] and [[Assyrian Neo-Aramaic]] varieties (mainly [[Syriac language|Syriac]] in education and writing), [[Northwest Semitic languages]] from the [[Semitic languages|Semitic branch]] of the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic language family]].
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}}
Most ethnic Kurdish and Arab people in Northern Syria adhere to [[Sunni Islam]], while ethnic Assyrian people generally are [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox]], [[Chaldean Catholic Church|Chaldean Catholic]], [[Syriac Catholic Church|Syriac Catholic]] or adherents of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]]. There are also adherents to other religions, such as [[Yazidis]]m.<ref>{{cite news|title=Could Christianity be driven from Middle East?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32287806|access-date=15 April 2015|publisher=BBC|date=15 April 2015|archive-date=26 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526161551/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32287806|url-status=live}}</ref> The dominant PYD party and the political administration in the region are decidedly [[secularism|secular]].<ref name=Dawronoye>{{cite web|author=Carl Drott|url=http://www.warscapes.com/reportage/revolutionaries-bethnahrin|title=The Revolutionaries of Bethnahrin|publisher=Warscapes|date=25 May 2015|access-date=8 October 2016|archive-date=10 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710040436/http://www.warscapes.com/reportage/revolutionaries-bethnahrin|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Enz-nyt-2015">{{cite news |last1=Enzinna |first1=Wes |title=A Dream of Secular Utopia in ISIS' Backyard |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/magazine/a-dream-of-utopia-in-hell.html |access-date=5 June 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=2015-11-24 |archive-date=4 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151204025745/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/magazine/a-dream-of-utopia-in-hell.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Population centres===
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbssyr.org/General%20census/census%202004/pop-man.pdf |title=2004 Syrian Census |date=2004 |website=Cbssyr.org |access-date=22 May 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310211017/http://www.cbssyr.org/General%20census/census%202004/pop-man.pdf |archive-date=10 March 2013}}</ref><br />Cities highlighted in light grey are partially under the civil control of the Syrian government.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rojava authorities |title=Announce elections |url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/29072017 |website=Rudaw |access-date=5 January 2018 |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228222704/http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/29072017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Salim Muslim interview">{{cite web|last1=Muslim|first1=Salim|title=Only way to keep Syria united by the adoption of a decentralised, democratic and secular system|url=https://www.vrede.be/nieuws/de-enige-manier-om-syrie-bij-elkaar-te-houden-de-invoering-van-een-gedecentraliseerd|website=vrede.be|publisher=Vrede vzw|access-date=5 January 2018|archive-date=16 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416205758/https://www.vrede.be/nieuws/de-enige-manier-om-syrie-bij-elkaar-te-houden-de-invoering-van-een-gedecentraliseerd|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Iddon|first1=Paul|title=The power plays behind Russia's deconfliction in Afrin|url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/analysis/10092017|access-date=5 January 2018|work=Rudaw|agency=Rudaw|date=10 September 2017|archive-date=5 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505145918/https://www.rudaw.net/english/analysis/10092017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rudaw2017-07-28">{{cite news|title=Kurdish force may leave Raqqa campaign if Turkey continues attacks|url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/28022017|access-date=5 January 2018|work=Rudaw|agency=Rudaw|date=28 July 2017|ref=Rudaw2017-07-28|archive-date=27 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427091434/https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/28022017|url-status=live}}</ref>
{|class="toccolours sortable" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse"
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|
|16,158
|[[#Administrative divisions|Tabqa]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://sdf-press.com/?p=21029|title=أعمال وإنجازات مجلس المنصورة المدني خلال عامه الأول|newspaper=قوات سوريا الديمقراطية - Syrian Democratic Forces
|-
|[[Al-Shaddadah]]
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=== Health ===
Healthcare is organized through the region's "Health and Environment Authority" and through sub-region and canton-level Health Committees.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Al-Hasaka Health Directorate: One person infection to endanger everyone's life – ANHA {{!}} HAWARNEWS {{!}} English|url=http://hawarnews.com/en/haber/al-hasaka-health-directorate-one-person-infection-to-endanger-everyones-life-h15599.html|website=hawarnews.com|access-date=5 May 2020|archive-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407102641/http://hawarnews.com/en/haber/al-hasaka-health-directorate-one-person-infection-to-endanger-everyones-life-h15599.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://smne-syria.com/eb/category/%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A6%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%88%D9%85%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%A8/%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A6%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A6%D8%A9/|title=هيئة الصحة والبيئة – المجلس التنفيذي|website=Smne-syria.com|access-date=4 December 2021|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308001003/http://smne-syria.com/eb/category/%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A6%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%88%D9%85%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%A8/%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A6%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A6%D8%A9/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=An appeal from Health Body of Al-Jazeera region – ANHA {{!}} HAWARNEWS {{!}} English|url=http://hawarnews.com/en/haber/an-appeal-from-health-body-of-al-jazeera-region-h15465.html|website=hawarnews.com|access-date=5 May 2020|archive-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407102649/http://hawarnews.com/en/haber/an-appeal-from-health-body-of-al-jazeera-region-h15465.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Search Results for "Health"| date=8 February 2020 |url=https://sdf-press.com/en/?s=Health|access-date=5 May 2020|archive-date=1 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301155551/https://sdf-press.com/en/?s=Health|url-status=live}}</ref> Independent organizations providing healthcare in the region include the [[Kurdish Red Crescent]], the [[Syrian American Medical Society]], the [[Free Burma Rangers]] and [[Doctors Without Borders]]. The [[2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria|2019 Turkish offensive]] left thousands of people in the region without access to basic necessities as the majority of international aid groups withdrew during the violence.<ref>{{Cite web|title=In Northern Syria, Destruction and Displacement Confront Health Workers – Syrian Arab Republic|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/northern-syria-destruction-and-displacement-confront-health-workers|website=ReliefWeb.int|date=28 October 2019
==External relations==
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[[File:Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svg|thumb|Flag of [[Syrian Democratic Forces]]]]
Currently, the relations of the region to the [[Syrian government|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 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.<ref name=russia-mediates>{{cite news|title=Syria's war: Assad on the offensive|url=https://www.economist.com/news/21690203-city-was-once-syrias-largest-faces-siege-assadu2019s-grip-tightens|access-date=1 May 2016|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=13 February 2016|archive-date=23 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223145327/https://www.economist.com/news/21690203-city-was-once-syrias-largest-faces-siege-assadu2019s-grip-tightens|url-status=live}}</ref>
The region does not state to pursue full independence but rather autonomy within a federal and democratic Syria.<ref name="MiddleEastEye">{{cite web|last=van Wilgenburg|first=Wladimir|author-link=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|date=21 March 2016|title=ANALYSIS: 'This is a new Syria, not a new Kurdistan'|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/analysis-kurds-syria-rojava-1925945786|url-status=live|access-date=25 May 2016|website=[[Middle East Eye]]|publisher=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317214552/http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/analysis-kurds-syria-rojava-1925945786 |archive-date=17 March 2016 }}</ref>
In March 2015, the Syrian Information Minister announced that his government considered recognizing the Kurdish autonomy "within the law and constitution".<ref>{{cite web|title=KRG: Elections in Jazira are Not Acceptable|publisher=Basnews|url=http://basnews.com/en/news/2015/03/14/krg-elections-in-jazira-are-not-acceptable/|date=14 March 2015|access-date=15 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316122001/http://basnews.com/en/news/2015/03/14/krg-elections-in-jazira-are-not-acceptable/|archive-date=16 March 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> While the region's administration is not invited to the [[Geneva peace talks on Syria (2016)|Geneva III peace talks on Syria]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUSKCN0YE2NI|title=Syrian Kurds point finger at Western-backed opposition|publisher=Reuters|date=23 May 2016|access-date=24 May 2016|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402083032/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUSKCN0YE2NI|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Now.MMedia/Al-Akhbar">{{cite web|url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/567021-russia-finishes-draft-for-new-syria-constitution-report|title=Russia finishes draft for new Syria constitution|publisher=Now.MMedia/Al-Akhbar|date=24 May 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807092054/https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/567021-russia-finishes-draft-for-new-syria-constitution-report |archive-date=7 August 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Al-Monitor"/> 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.<ref name=chatham>{{cite web|url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/publications/research/2016-09-15-kurdish-self-governance-syria-sary_0.pdf|title=Kurdish Self-governance in Syria: Survival and Ambition|author=Ghadi Sary|publisher=Chatham House|date=September 2016|access-date=20 November 2016|archive-date=9 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009204816/https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/publications/research/2016-09-15-kurdish-self-governance-syria-sary_0.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>▼
An analysis released in June 2017 described the region's "relationship with the regime fraught but functional" and a "semi-cooperative dynamic".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://warontherocks.com/2017/06/the-signal-in-syrias-noise/|title=The Signal in Syria's Noise|author=Sam Heller|publisher=warontherocks.com|date=30 June 2017|access-date=30 June 2017|archive-date=30 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630154243/https://warontherocks.com/2017/06/the-signal-in-syrias-noise/|url-status=live}}</ref> In late September 2017, Syria's Foreign Minister said that Damascus would consider granting Kurds more autonomy in the region once ISIL is defeated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/syria-granting-kurds-greater-autonomy-170926121821968.html|title=Syria to consider granting Kurds greater autonomy|website=Al Jazeera|access-date=25 April 2018|archive-date=28 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228052604/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/syria-granting-kurds-greater-autonomy-170926121821968.html|url-status=live}}</ref>▼
▲In March 2015, the Syrian Information Minister announced that his government considered recognizing the Kurdish autonomy "within the law and constitution".<ref>{{cite web|title=KRG: Elections in Jazira are Not Acceptable|publisher=Basnews|url=http://basnews.com/en/news/2015/03/14/krg-elections-in-jazira-are-not-acceptable/|date=14 March 2015|access-date=15 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316122001/http://basnews.com/en/news/2015/03/14/krg-elections-in-jazira-are-not-acceptable/|archive-date=16 March 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> While the region's administration is not invited to the [[Geneva peace talks on Syria (2016)|Geneva III peace talks on Syria]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUSKCN0YE2NI|title=Syrian Kurds point finger at Western-backed opposition|publisher=Reuters|date=23 May 2016|access-date=24 May 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Now.MMedia/Al-Akhbar">{{cite web|url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/567021-russia-finishes-draft-for-new-syria-constitution-report|title=Russia finishes draft for new Syria constitution|publisher=Now.MMedia/Al-Akhbar|date=24 May 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807092054/https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/NewsReports/567021-russia-finishes-draft-for-new-syria-constitution-report |archive-date=7 August 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Al-Monitor"/> 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.<ref name=chatham>{{cite web|url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/publications/research/2016-09-15-kurdish-self-governance-syria-sary_0.pdf|title=Kurdish Self-governance in Syria: Survival and Ambition|author=Ghadi Sary|publisher=Chatham House|date=September 2016|access-date=20 November 2016|archive-date=9 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009204816/https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/publications/research/2016-09-15-kurdish-self-governance-syria-sary_0.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
On 13 October 2019, the SDF announced that it had reached an agreement with the Syrian Army which allowed the latter to enter the SDF-held cities of Manbij and Kobani in order to dissuade a Turkish attack on those cities as part of the cross-border offensive by Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-towns-report-idUSKBN1WS0K0|title=Report: Syrian army to enter SDF-held Kobani, Manbij|website=Reuters|date=14 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=13 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013164335/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-towns-report-idUSKBN1WS0K0|url-status=live}}</ref> The Syrian Army also deployed in the north of Syria together with the SDF along the Syrian-Turkish border and entered into several SDF-held cities such as Ayn Issa and Tell Tamer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-government-sdf-idUSKBN1WS0PF|title=Syrian army to deploy along Turkish border in deal with Kurdish-led forces|website=Reuters|date=14 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=22 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022053311/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-government-sdf-idUSKBN1WS0PF|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-army-moves-to-confront-turkish-forces-as-us-withdraws/|title=Syrian army moves to confront Turkish forces as US withdraws|website=Times of Israel|date=14 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=14 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014110752/https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-army-moves-to-confront-turkish-forces-as-us-withdraws/|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the creation of the [[Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone]] the SDF stated that it was ready to merge with the Syrian Army if or when a political settlement between the Syrian government and the SDF is achieved.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-security-idUKKBN1X319A|title=Syrian Kurds accuse Turkey of violations, Russia says peace plan on track|website=Reuters|date=24 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=24 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024140036/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-security-idUKKBN1X319A|url-status=live}}</ref>▼
▲An analysis released in June 2017 described the region's "relationship with the regime fraught but functional" and a "semi-cooperative dynamic".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://warontherocks.com/2017/06/the-signal-in-syrias-noise/|title=The Signal in Syria's Noise|author=Sam Heller|publisher=warontherocks.com|date=30 June 2017}}</ref> In late September 2017, Syria's Foreign Minister said that Damascus would consider granting Kurds more autonomy in the region once ISIL is defeated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/syria-granting-kurds-greater-autonomy-170926121821968.html|title=Syria to consider granting Kurds greater autonomy|website=Al Jazeera|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>
▲On 13 October 2019, the SDF announced that it had reached an agreement with the Syrian Army which allowed the latter to enter the SDF-held cities of Manbij and Kobani in order to dissuade a Turkish attack on those cities as part of the cross-border offensive by Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-towns-report-idUSKBN1WS0K0|title=Report: Syrian army to enter SDF-held Kobani, Manbij|website=Reuters|date=14 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019}}</ref> The Syrian Army also deployed in the north of Syria together with the SDF along the Syrian-Turkish border and entered into several SDF-held cities such as Ayn Issa and Tell Tamer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-government-sdf-idUSKBN1WS0PF|title=Syrian army to deploy along Turkish border in deal with Kurdish-led forces|website=Reuters|date=14 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-army-moves-to-confront-turkish-forces-as-us-withdraws/|title=Syrian army moves to confront Turkish forces as US withdraws|website=Times of Israel|date=14 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019}}</ref> Following the creation of the [[Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone]] the SDF stated that it was ready to merge with the Syrian Army if or when a political settlement between the Syrian government and the SDF is achieved.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-security-idUKKBN1X319A|title=Syrian Kurds accuse Turkey of violations, Russia says peace plan on track|website=Reuters|date=24 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019}}</ref>
===Kurdish issues===
{{See also|Kurdistan|Kurdish nationalism}} [[File:Kurdish-inhabited area by CIA (1992).jpg|thumb|Kurdish-inhabited areas in 1992 according to the [[CIA]] ]]
The region's dominant political party, the [[Democratic Union Party (Syria)|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]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/kobani-means-turkeys-kurds|title=What Kobani Means for Turkey's Kurds|magazine=The New Yorker|date=8 November 2014|access-date=20 February 2020|archive-date=15 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015072820/https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/kobani-means-turkeys-kurds|url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[Siege of Kobanî]], some ethnic Kurdish citizens of Turkey crossed the border and volunteered in the defense of the town.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/09/turkey-kurds-pkk-daglica-war-be-sustained-bloody-day.html|title=6 reasons why Turkey's war against the PKK won't last|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=8 September 2015|access-date=20 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328074432/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/09/turkey-kurds-pkk-daglica-war-be-sustained-bloody-day.html|archive-date=28 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/kurdish-militants-and-turkeys-new-urban-insurgency/|title=Kurdish Militants and Turkey's New Urban Insurgency|publisher=War on the Rocks|date=23 March 2016|access-date=20 May 2016|archive-date=21 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121051955/https://warontherocks.com/2016/03/kurdish-militants-and-turkeys-new-urban-insurgency/|url-status=live}}</ref>
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.<ref name="MiddleEastEye"/> The political system of Iraqi Kurdistan<ref>{{cite web|url=http://carnegie-mec.org/2015/08/17/kurdistan-s-politicized-society-confronts-sultanistic-system/ieta|title=Kurdistan's Politicized Society Confronts a Sultanistic System|publisher=Carnegie Middle East Center|date=18 August 2015|access-date=8 June 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name=musliminterview>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/08/syrian-kurdish-leader-will-respect-outcome-independence-referendum/|title=Syrian Kurdish leader: We will respect outcome of independence referendum|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=3 August 2016|access-date=4 August 2016|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019142847/http://aranews.net/2016/08/syrian-kurdish-leader-will-respect-outcome-independence-referendum/|url-status=dead}}</ref> They have traditionally been opposed by the Iraqi-Kurdish KDP-sponsored [[Kurdish National Council]] in Syria with more clear Kurdish nationalist leanings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/08/kurdish-national-council-announces-plan-setting-syrian-kurdistan-region/|title=Kurdish National Council announces plan for setting up 'Syrian Kurdistan Region'|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=4 August 2016|access-date=4 August 2016|archive-date=6 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206050619/http://aranews.net/2016/08/kurdish-national-council-announces-plan-setting-syrian-kurdistan-region/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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[[File:Demonstration in Afrin against Turkish military operation.png|thumb|A demonstration in the city of [[Afrin, Syria|Afrin]] in support of the [[People's Protection Units|YPG]] against the [[Operation Olive Branch|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<ref>{{cite news|last1=Taştekin|first1=Fehim|title=Hollande-PYD meeting challenges Erdogan|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/turkey-france-kurdish-guerillas-elysee.html#|agency=Al-Monitor|date=12 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jinha.com.tr/en/ALL-NEWS/content/view/25309|title=YPJ Commander Nesrin Abdullah speaks in Italian Parliament|publisher=JINHA|date=23 June 2015|access-date=9 June 2016|archive-date=6 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906052138/http://jinha.com.tr/en/ALL-NEWS/content/view/25309|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://ekurd.net/kurdish-pyd-hdp-ocalan-athens-2016-02-17|title=Syrian Kurdish PYD, Turkey's HDP leaders attend 'Ocalan conference' in Athens|publisher=eKurd|date=17 February 2016|access-date=13 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/foreign-affairs-committee/news/report-kurdistan-region/|title=Build Kurdistan relationship or risk losing vital Middle East partner – News from Parliament|publisher=UK Parliament|access-date=22 May 2016}}</ref> and appreciation<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kurdishquestion.com/oldsite/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/rome-declares-kobane-sister-city.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161213100544/http://kurdishquestion.com/oldsite/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/rome-declares-kobane-sister-city.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 December 2016|title=Rome Declares Kobane 'Sister City'|publisher=Kurdishquestion|date=5 April 2015|access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref> 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,<ref name="Al-Monitor"/><ref name="Now.MMedia/Al-Akhbar"/> while the U.S. does not.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mark C. Toner, Deputy Spokesperson. Daily Press Briefing. Washington, DC. November 7, 2016|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2016/11/264175.htm|work=United States Department of State|date=7 November 2016|access-date=7 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://aranews.net/2017/03/us-led-coalition-has-no-intention-to-create-federal-kurdish-state-in-syria-official/|publisher=Ara news|title=US-led coalition has no intention to create federal Kurdish state in Syria: official|date=30 March 2017|access-date=12 April 2017|archive-date=13 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413073249/http://aranews.net/2017/03/us-led-coalition-has-no-intention-to-create-federal-kurdish-state-in-syria-official/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 [[Federalization of Syria|federalism]] like "association areas", strengthen the parliament at the cost of the presidency, and realize [[Islam and secularism|secularism]] by abolishing Islamic jurisprudence as a source of legislation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria Opposition Rejects Russian Draft of New Constitution|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-25/syria-opposition-rejects-russian-draft-of-new-constitution|publisher=Bloomberg|date=25 January 2017|access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian draft constitution recognizes Kurdish language, no mentions of federalism|url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/26012017|publisher=Rudaw|date=26 January 2017|access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|script-title=ar:رووداو تنشر مسودة الدستور السوري التي أعدها خبراء روس|url=http://www.rudaw.net/mobile/arabic/middleeast/syria/250120172|publisher=Rudaw |language=ar |access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Moscow invites Kurds and Syrian opposition to explain Astana|url=http://aranews.net/2017/01/moscow-invites-kurds-and-syrian-opposition-to-explain-astana/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126011845/http://aranews.net/2017/01/moscow-invites-kurds-and-syrian-opposition-to-explain-astana/|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 January 2017|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=26 January 2017|access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref> The region opened official representation offices in [[Moscow]] during 2016,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalia.info/new/10714/rojava-first-representation-office-outside-kurdistan-opens-in-moscow|title=Rojava's first representation office outside Kurdistan opens in Moscow|website=Nationalia|date=11 February 2016|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref> [[Stockholm]],<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/04/syrian-kurds-inaugurate-representation-office-sweden/|title=Syrian Kurds inaugurate representation office in Sweden|date=18 April 2016|publisher=[[ARA News]]|access-date=22 May 2016|archive-date=19 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719175351/http://aranews.net/2016/04/syrian-kurds-inaugurate-representation-office-sweden/|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Berlin]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.evrensel.net/haber/279449/berlinde-rojava-temsilciligi-acildi|title=Berlin'de Rojava temsilciliği açıldı|date=7 May 2016|website=Evrensel.net|language=tr-TR|access-date=22 May 2016}}</ref> [[Paris]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/05/24/Syrian-Kurds-open-unofficial-representative-mission-in-Paris-.html|title=Syrian Kurds open unofficial representative mission in Paris|publisher=Al Arabiya|date=24 May 2016|access-date=22 May 2016}}</ref> and [[The Hague]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/09/syrian-kurds-inaugurate-representation-office-in-the-netherlands/|title=Syrian Kurds inaugurate representation office in the Netherlands|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=8 September 2016|access-date=8 September 2016|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019135921/http://aranews.net/2016/09/syrian-kurds-inaugurate-representation-office-in-the-netherlands/|url-status=dead}}</ref> A broad range of public voices in the U.S. and Europe have called for more formal recognition of the region.<ref name=meredith>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2016-10-14/rojava-model|title=The Rojava Model|author=Meredith Tax|
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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 (1978–present)|Kurdish–Turkish conflict]]. In this context, in particular the region's leading [[Democratic Union Party (Syria)|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,<ref name=meredith/> persistent attempts of international isolation,<ref name=OIC>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.tr/speech-by-h_e_-mevlut-cavusoglu_-minister-of-foreign-affairs-of-the-republic-of-turkey-at-the-meeting-of-council-of-foreign-mini.en.mfa|title=From Rep. of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs|access-date=28 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205011325/http://www.mfa.gov.tr/speech-by-h_e_-mevlut-cavusoglu_-minister-of-foreign-affairs-of-the-republic-of-turkey-at-the-meeting-of-council-of-foreign-mini.en.mfa|archive-date=5 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> opposition to the cooperation between the American-led anti-ISIL coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-president-erdogan-slams-us-over-ypg-support.aspx?PageID=238&NID=99783&NewsCatID=510|title=Turkish President Erdoğan slams US over YPG support|work=Hurryiet Daily News|date=28 May 2016|access-date=2 November 2016}}</ref> and support of [[Islamism|Islamist]] opposition fighters hostile to the autonomous region,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lobelog.com/how-can-turkey-overcome-its-foreign-policy-mess/|title=How Can Turkey Overcome Its Foreign Policy Mess?|publisher=Lobolog (Graham E. Fuller)|date=19 February 2016|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref><ref name=menafn>{{cite web|url=https://menafn.com/1098284482/Syrias-Afrin-a-plundered-settlement-one-year-on |title=Syria's Afrin: a plundered settlement one year on |access-date=23 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=44027|title=The Rise of Jaysh al-Fateh in Northern Syria|author=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|newspaper=Jamestown |publisher=Jamestown Foundation|date=12 June 2015|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref> with some reports even including ISIL among these.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/research-paper-isis-turke_b_6128950.html|title=Research Paper: ISIS-Turkey Links|author=David L. Phillips|work=Huffington Post|date=11 September 2014|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/links-between-turkey-and-isis-are-now-undeniable-2015-7|title=Senior Western official: Links between Turkey and ISIS are now 'undeniable'|publisher=Businessinsider|date=28 July 2015|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.meforum.org/5317/turkey-isis|title=Turkey's Double Game with ISIS|author=Burak Bekdil|journal=Middle East Quarterly|date=Summer 2015|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref> Turkey has on several occasions militarily attacked the region's territory and defence forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/27/turkey-shells-kurdish-held-village-in-syria|title=Turkey accused of shelling Kurdish-held village in Syria|work=The Guardian|date=27 July 2015|access-date=9 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/02/turkey-bombs-kurdish-city-of-afrin-northern-syria-civilian-casualties-reported/|title=Turkey strikes Kurdish city of Afrin northern Syria, civilian casualties reported|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=19 February 2016|access-date=9 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103054447/http://aranews.net/2016/02/turkey-bombs-kurdish-city-of-afrin-northern-syria-civilian-casualties-reported/|archive-date=3 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://europe.newsweek.com/turkeys-syria-intervention-sign-weakness-not-strength-501516|title=Turkey's Syria Intervention: A Sign of Weakness Not Strength|author= Christopher Phillips|publisher=Newsweek|date=22 September 2016|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref> This has resulted in some expressions of international solidarity with the region.{{efn|Concerns over Turkish actions were expressed by US, Russian, and
On 9 October 2019, Turkey launched an [[2019 Rojava offensive|attack on northern Syria]] "to destroy the terror corridor" on the Turkish southern border, as president Erdogan put it, after US President Donald Trump abandoned his support. Subsequent media reports have speculated that the offensive would lead to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/10/09/turkey-launches-an-attack-on-northern-syria?cid1=cust/dailypicks1/n/bl/n/2019109n/owned/n/n/dailypicks1/n/n/NA/322032/n|title=Turkey launches an attack on northern Syria|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=9 October 2019|issn=0013-0613}}</ref>
In December 2019, an international conference hosted by the International Alliance for the Defence of Rights and Freedoms (AIDL) was held at the European Parliament which condemned the Turkish invasion of northeastern Syria, and called for the self-declared Autonomous Administration of North East Syria to be recognized and to be included in UN-led Constitutional Committee tasked to draft a new constitution for Syria. The official position of the European Union remained the same however, that the Autonomous Administration should be "respected" and included in talks while rejecting "any recognition in the national sense of the word" and that "the territorial integrity of Syria is fundamental".<ref>[https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/eu-affairs/84361/eu-condemns-turkey-again-while-sticking-to-its-position-on-the-kurdish-administration-in-north-east-syria/ EU condemns Turkey again while sticking to its position on the Kurdish administration in north-east Syria], Brusselstimes.com, 17 December 2019.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://anfenglish.com/news/final-declaration-of-the-ep-conference-on-rojava-40065|title=Final declaration of the EP Conference on Rojava|newspaper=Anf News}}</ref>
==War crimes and criticism==
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*{{cite book|last=Zabad |first=Ibrahim |title=Middle Eastern Minorities: The Impact of the Arab Spring |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XiAlDwAAQBAJ |date=2017 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London; New York City |isbn= 978-1-472-47441-4}}
{{Refend}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Holmes |first1=Amy Austin |title=Statelet of Survivors: The Making of a Semi-Autonomous Region in Northeast Syria |date=2024 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-762103-5 |language=en}}
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://aanesgov.org Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) official website]
* [http://civiroglu.net/the-constitution-of-the-rojava-cantons/ The 2014 Constitution of the Rojava Cantons]
* [http://anarchism.pageabode.com/andrewnflood/resources-rojava-revolution-kurdistan-syria Resources on the Rojava revolution in West Kurdistan (Syria)]
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