Democratic Federation of Northern Syria
الفدرالية الديمقراطية لشمال سوريا
Federaliya Demokratîk a Bakûrê Sûriyê ܦܕܪܐܠܝܘܬ݂ܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܐܛܝܬܐ ܕܓܪܒܝ ܣܘܪܝܐ |
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Under NSR administration (green), claimed (orange)
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Status | De facto autonomous federation of Syria |
Capital |
Qamişlo (Qamishli) 37°03′N 41°13′E / 37.050°N 41.217°E |
Largest city | Al-Hasakah |
Official languages | |
Government | |
• Co-President
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Hediya Yousef |
• Co-President
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Mansur Selum |
Autonomous region | |
• Autonomy proposed
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July 2013 |
• Autonomy declared
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November 2013 |
• Regional government established
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November 2013 |
• Interim constitution adopted
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January 2014 |
• Federation declared
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17 March 2016 |
Population | |
• 2014 estimate
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≈4,600,000 (half of them internal refugees) |
Currency | Syrian pound (SYP) |
Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
Drives on the | right |
The Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, most commonly known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region originating in and consisting of three self-governing cantons in northern Syria, namely Afrin Canton, Jazira Canton and Kobanî Canton, as well as adjacent areas of northern Syria like Shahba region. The region gained its de facto autonomy in 2012 as part of the ongoing Rojava conflict and the wider Syrian Civil War, establishing and gradually expanding a secular polity based on the democratic confederalist principles of democratic socialism, gender equality, and ecological sustainability.
Northern Syria is polyethnic and home to sizable ethnic Kurdish, Arab, Syriac-Assyrian and Turkmen populations, with smaller communities of ethnic Armenians, Circassians and Chechens. This diversity is mirrored in its constitution, society and politics. Despite such diversity, Rojava is regarded by Kurdish nationalists as Western Kurdistan (Kurdish: Rojavayê Kurdistanê), one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan alongside southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), and northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan). It is also considered by Assyrians as Gozarto (meaning Upper Mesopotamia), part of the historical Syriac-Assyrian homeland.