People's Defense Units

People's Defense Units
Yekîneyên Parastina Gel (YPG) ‏وحدات حماية الشعب‎‎
Flag of the YPG
Active	2011–present
Allegiance	Kurdish Supreme Committee (2011–2013)[1] Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (2013–present)[2]
Type	Light infantry militia with several motorised battalions
Size	78,000 (Including YPJ, 2017 estimate)[3]
Part of	Syrian Democratic Forces
Engagements	Syrian Civil War/Rojava conflict 2012 Rojava campaign Battle of Aleppo Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016) Al-Hasakah Governorate campaign (2012–13) Battle of Ras al-Ayn Battle of al-Yaarubiyah Battle of Tell Abyad (2013) Siege of Kobanî Al-Hasakah offensive Battle of Sarrin Tell Abyad offensive Battle of Al-Hasakah Al-Hawl offensive Tishrin Dam offensive Al-Shaddadi offensive Battle of Tell Abyad (2016) Northern Raqqa offensive Manbij offensive Battle of al-Hasakah (2016) Operation Euphrates Shield Western al-Bab offensive (October–November 2016) Raqqa campaign (2016–2017) Operation Olive Branch Eastern Syria Insurgency 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria Iraqi Civil War 2014 Sinjar offensive 2015 Sinjar offensive
Website	Official website
Commanders
General Commander	Mahmoud Berkhadan
Spokesperson	Nuri Mahmoud
Notable commanders	Zainab Afrin Nalîn Dêrik Sozdar Dêrik Serhildan Garisî Rêdûr Khalil

The People's Defense Units (YPG),^[a] also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly Kurdish militant group in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).^[4][5] YPG provides updates about its activities through YPG Press Office Telegram channel and social media accounts.

The YPG mostly consists of Kurds, but also includes Arabs and foreign volunteers; it is closely allied to the Syriac Military Council, an Assyrian militia. The YPG was formed in 2011. It expanded rapidly in the Syrian Civil War and came to predominate over other armed Syrian Kurdish groups. A sister militia, the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), fights alongside them. The YPG is active in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), particularly in its Kurdish regions.

In early 2015, the group won a major victory over the so-called Islamic State (IS) during the siege of Kobanî, where the YPG began to receive air and ground support from the United States and other Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve militaries. Since then, the YPG has primarily fought against IS, as well as on occasion fighting other Syrian rebel groups and the Turkish Armed Forces.^[6] In late 2015, the YPG became part of the SDF, an umbrella group intended to better incorporate Arabs and minorities into the war effort. In 2016–2017, the SDF's Raqqa campaign led to the liberation of the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State's de facto capital. Several western sources have described the YPG as the "most effective" force in fighting IS in Syria.^[7][8]

According to Turkey^[9] and Qatar,^[10] the YPG is a terrorist organization,^[11][12][13] closely associated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organization. The flag of the YPG is also a banned symbol in Germany as per Strafgesetzbuch section 86a,^[14][15] although the organization itself is not recognised as terrorist.^[16] Finland and Sweden's alleged support for the YPG, is one of the points which caused Turkey to oppose Finland and Sweden's NATO accession bid.^[17][18] In June 2022, then–Finnish President Sauli Niinistö announced in Madrid, after the agreement with Turkey, that Finland does not see the YPG as a terrorist organization and that Finland will continue to support the YPG.^[19] The Turkish terror classification is not shared by key international bodies in the fight against the Islamic State in which the YPG takes part.^[20] Due to this Turkish view, US Army Special Operations Commander General Raymond Thomas suggested the YPG to change their name, after which the name of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was found.^[21][22] According to the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency, the US military provided US$715 millions in weapons and equipment aid to the political party Democratic Union Party (PYD) and YPG.^[23] Among the heavy weaponry provided are TOW American anti-tank missiles.^[24]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).