YPG

Kurdish commander calls on US to 'intervene forcefully' in Syria clashes

The head of the YPG warned that only the US or its coalition partners can halt Syria’s advance into Kurdish-held territory, as government forces seize key towns and energy sites.

|ByREUTERS, JAMES GENN
Members of the Kurdish Internal Security Forces known as "Asayish", and residents rally during a demonstration against the attacks by the Syrian government forces and in support of Kurdish fighters in Qamishli, the main Kurdish city in the country's northeast on January 18, 2026.
A group of civilians carry bags and belongings as they flee following renewed clashes between the Syrian army and the Syrian Democratic Forces, in Aleppo, Syria, January 7, 2026

Syria's power struggle: Who controls what, and why fighting continues - analysis

For some commentators, the current conflict in Syria boils down to the new Syrian government attacking Kurdish forces. While this is correct in some ways, it is also very simplistic.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Members of Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) stand guard as Women’s Protection Unit (YPJ) and Kurdish internal security forces conduct a security operation in al-Roj camp, Syria, April 6, 2025.

Syrian Kurdish YPG should stop delaying Syria integration, Turkey says

"The YPG/SDF must stop its policy of playing for time," Fidan told a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shibani in Ankara.

|ByREUTERS
WOMEN TAKE PART in a rally demanding that the new Islamist rulers in Damascus respect women’s rights and condemn Turkish-backed military campaigns in Kurdish-led regions of the north, in the northeastern city of Qamishli, Syria, last month. If any ethnic group deserves justice, it is the Kurds.

What will Turkey do with Syria's Kurdish population? - opinion

Although Erdogan might deplore the effect on Turkey’s domestic political scene, he may yet see an autonomous Kurdish region recognized within a new Syrian constitution.

|ByNEVILLE TELLER

Turkey moves to isolate the Kurds in Syria, and prepares a way for new attacks - analysis

The main group in Ankara's cross-hairs is the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, which was formed in 2015 with US backing.

DECEMBER 14, 2024BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) attend a joint military exercise with forces of the US in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya (Derik in Kurdish) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on September 7, 2022.