The Road to ar-Raqqah: Background on the Syrian Democratic Forces
30 Nov 2016
By Genevieve Casagrande for Institute for the Study of War (ISW)
This article was external pageoriginally published by the external pageInstitute for the Study of War (ISW) on 22 November 2016.
The composition and behavior of the force that recaptures ar-Raqqah City will in part determine the long-term success of the U.S.-led anti-ISIS campaign in Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is the U.S.’s most effective partner fighting ISIS in Syria, but it has limitations that risk undermining the gains it makes on the ground. The SDF, although dominated by the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), is not monolithic. The SDF coalition consists of Kurdish, Arab, Syriac Christian, and Turkmen groups. The U.S. built the external pageSDF in late 2015 by recruiting a “Syrian Arab Coalition” to fight alongside the YPG and other local militias. The SDF continued to attract Arab fighters in the lead up to operations against ISIS in ar-Raqqah, including the recent inclusion of members of the external pageFree Officer’s Union, a group of several high-ranking Syrian Arab Army defectors, in October 2016.
The YPG nonetheless continues to dominate the SDF, despite increased efforts by the U.S. to diversify the coalition and recruit additional Arab fighters. The SDF remains dependent upon the YPG for logistics and experienced fighters, providing the YPG with outsized leverage within the coalition. Turkey considers the YPG to be a terrorist organization due to external pagethe group’s ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), placing the SDF in direct conflict with Turkey. Local Arab and Turkmen populations in northern Syria also oppose the YPG, accusing the group of “external pageethnic cleansing” and forcibly displacing local communities. Moreover, the YPG’s political wing, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), intends to create external pagea semi-autonomous federal region in northern Syria, which Turkey, Arab opposition groups, and other Kurdish parties oppose. The SDF’s effort to advance towards ar-Raqqah City and thereby expand Kurdish influence further into traditionally Arab terrain threatens to exacerbate these tensions and escalate into a more violent Arab-Kurdish and intra-Kurdish struggle in the region.
The following chart identifies some of the largest and most influential groups within the SDF. This list of groups, however, is not
exhaustive.
Please click external pagehere to access a pdf version of this chart.
Notes
1 Patrick Martin and Christopher Kozak, “The Pitfalls of Relying on Kurdish Forces to Counter ISIS,” Institute for the Study of War, 3 February 2016, http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/The%20Pitfalls%20of%20 Relying%20on%20Kurdish%20Forces%20to%20Counter%20ISIS.pdf.
2 Ben Hubbard, “New U.S.-Backed Alliance to Counter ISIS in Syria Falters,” New York Times, November 2, 2015, http://www.nytimes. com/2015/11/03/world/middleeast/new-us-backed-alliance-in-syria-exists-in-name-only.html; David Pollock, “Making Rojava More Like the KRG,” Washington Institute for Near East Policy, November 2017, http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/ PolicyFocus150_Clawson.pdf.
3 Roy Gutman, “New allies in northern Syria don’t seem to share U.S. goals,” McClatchyDC, 27 Ocobter 2015, http://www.mcclatchydc.com/ news/nation-world/world/article41559747.html.
4 David Ignatius, “The new coalition to destroy the Islamic State,” The Washington Post, 22 May 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/ opinions/the-new-coalition-to-destroy-the-islamic-state/2016/05/22/54d9b466-2036-11e6-aa84-42391ba52c91_story.html?utm_term=. f96163fc2d79.
5 “Factions of the Free Army declare supporting JMC,” Hawar News Agency, 29 August 2016, http://en.hawarnews.com/factions-of-the-free-army-declare-supporting-jmc/.
6 “Kurds doggedly defend Ain al-Arab,” The Daily Star Lebanon, 5 December 2014, http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/ Dec-05/279971-kurds-doggedly-defend-ain-al-arab.ashx ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcxdUu8ZvGA& feature=youtu.be
7 “Factions of the Free Army declare supporting JMC,” Hawar News Agency, 29 August 2016, http://en.hawarnews.com/factions-of-the-free-army-declare-supporting-jmc/ .
8 [“Creation of the Military Council of Manbij and its Countryside”], YouTube video, posted by Ajansa Hawar ANHA, 02 April 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcxdUu8ZvGA& feature=youtu.be .
9 “Factions of the Free Army declare supporting JMC,” Hawar News Agency, 29 August 2016, http://en.hawarnews.com/factions-of-the-free-army-declare-supporting-jmc/.
10 “Factions of the Free Army declare supporting JMC,” Hawar News Agency, 29 August 2016, http://en.hawarnews.com/factions-of-the-free-army-declare-supporting-jmc/.
11 [“What is Katiba Shuhada al Furat?”], Hawar News Agency, 14 January 2016, http://www.hawarnews.com/%D9%85%D8%A7- %D9%87%D9%8A-%D9%83%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84 %D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%9F.
12 [“Creation of the Military Council of Manbij and its Countryside”], YouTube video, posted by Ajansa Hawar ANHA, 02 April 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcxdUu8ZvGA& feature=youtu.be.
13 [“Assassination of Brig. Gen. Al Menshaq Amad Akrad”], Hawar News Agency, 14 October 2016, http://www.hawarnews.com/%D8%A7% D8%BA%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85% D9%86%D8%B4%D9%82-%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A3%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AF/ .
14 [“Defection of Officers from the ‘Free Officers Union’ Affiliated with the Free Syrian Army “], YouTube video, posted by Mohammad Hamou, 14 October 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVQqqSj9WdY&feature=youtu.be ; Qehreman Miste & Silber Haji, “Hundreds of Syrian rebels join the pro-Kurdish SDF alliance,” ARA News, 14 October 2016, http://aranews.net/2016/10/hundreds-syrian-rebels-join-kurdish-arab-alliance-sdf/.
15 Cyber Haji and Qahraman Mesti, [“Brig. Gen. Hossam Al-Awak: We Are In The Last Stages of the Fall of the Muslim Brotherhood Due To Its Alliance With Turkey”], ARA News, 17 October 2016, http://aranews.org/2016/10/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%8A%D 8%AF-%D8%AD%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%83-%D9%86%D8%AD%D9%86- %D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A2%D8%AE%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%84-%D8%B3%D9%82%D9%88/.
16 [“Defectors from the Regime Establish ‘Free Officers Union’”], Zaman al Wasl, 25 July 2016, https://www.zamanalwsl.net/news/72467. html.
17 @QSD_Jabha, Twitter Post, 04 October 2016, 11:14 AM, https://twitter.com/QSD_Jabha/status/783324454600388609 ; Ahmed Shawish, [“Liwa Tahrir al-Furat Joins Manbij Military Council in Rif Aleppo”], ARA News, 02 October 2016, http://aranews.org/2016/10/%D8%A7 %D9%86%D8%B6%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%84%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1- %D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%84%D8%B3- %D9%85%D9%86%D8%A8%D8%AC/.
18 @mmc2016c, Twitter Post, 20 November 2016, 2:53 PM, https://twitter.com/mmc2016c/status/800426971431718912.
About the Author
Genevieve Casagrande is a Syria Research Analyst at the Institute for the Study of War where she focuses on the Syrian opposition. She previously worked with The Carter Center as a Conflict Analyst with the Conflict Resolution Program’s Syria Conflict Mapping Project and the Syria Transition Options Initiative.
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