Syrian Democratic Forces
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was a Kurdish-led coalition of left-wing ethnic militias and rebel groups, which served as the official military wing of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES; also unofficially known as Rojava) from 2015 to 2026. Founded on 10 October 2015, the stated mission of the SDF was to create a secular, democratic, and federalized Syria. The SDF was opposed by Turkey, who viewed the group as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is internationally designated a terrorist group.
Formed as a rebel alliance in the Syrian civil war with American support, the SDF was composed primarily of Kurdish, Arab, and Assyrian/Syriac, as well as some smaller Armenian, Turkmen, and Chechen forces. It is militarily led by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia which is designated as a terrorist group by both Turkey and Qatar. The SDF also includes several ethnic militias and various factions of the Syrian opposition's Free Syrian Army.
Opponents of the SDF included various Islamist, Syrian nationalist, and pro-Turkish forces involved in the civil war. Major enemies included al-Qaeda affiliates, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Syrian National Army (TFSA), the Turkish Armed Forces, and their allies. Up to 2019, the SDF focused primarily on ISIL, successfully driving them from important strategic areas such as Al-Hawl, Shaddadi, Tishrin Dam, Manbij, Tabqa, Euphrates Dam, Mansoura Dam, and ISIL's former capital of Raqqa. In March 2019, the SDF announced the total territorial defeat of ISIL in Syria, with the SDF taking control of the last stronghold in Baghuz. After that, the SDF was increasingly involved in combatting the TFSA and Turkish presence in northern Syria. In January 2026, the Syrian transitional government launched an offensive against the SDF in northeastern Syria, leading to the capture of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, ending in a 14-point ceasefire agreement negotiated through the US as a basis for integation.
On 10 March 2025, the SDF agreed to integrate into Syrian state institutions under the Syrian caretaker government. In January 2026, the Syrian transitional government launched an offensive against the SDF in northeastern Syria. On 18 January, a 14-point ceasefire agreement with the SDF, negotiated through the US envoy Tom Barrack, was announced, under which the SDF started integrating into the Syrian government, and the governorates of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor immediately handed over to the government, together with the administration of prisoner-of-war camps for Islamic State members, all border crossings and oil fields. On 25 August 2026, SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi declared the SDF's dissolution, and its complete integration into the Syrian Army.