YPG

People's Protection Units
Yekîneyên Parastina Gel (YPG) ‏وحدات حماية الشعب‎‎‎
YPG flag
Active	2011–present
Allegiance	Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava (2012–present) Democratic Union Party(2004–present)
Type	Light infantry militia
Size	50,000
Part of	Syrian Democratic Forces
Motto(s)	YPG dimeşe, erd û ezman diheje (YPG is marching, and the earth and sky [or heavens] tremble)
Engagements	Syrian Civil War Battle of Aleppo Battle of Ras al-Ayn Siege of Kobanî Al-Hasakah offensive Battle of Sarrin Tell Abyad campaign Battle of Al-Hasakah Al-Hawl offensive Tishrin Dam offensive Al-Shaddadi offensive (2016) Northern Aleppo offensive (2016) Northern Raqqa offensive (May 2016) Manbij offensive (2016) Iraqi Civil War December 2014 Sinjar offensive November 2015 Sinjar offensive
Website	Official website
Commanders
General Commander	Sîpan Hemo
Spokesperson	Rêdûr Xelîl
Spokesperson	Xebat Îbrahîm
Special forces commander	Ali Boutan †
Notable commanders	Ciwan Îbrahîm, Roşna Akêd

Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava (2012–present)

Syrian Civil War

Iraqi Civil War

The People's Protection Units (Kurdish: Yekîneyên Parastina Gel‎, یەکینەکانی پاراستنی گەل pronounced [jɑkinæjen pɑrɑstinɑ gæl]; YPG) is the militia of the Democratic Union Party, the primary component of Rojava's Syrian Democratic Forces, and the Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The YPG is overwhelmingly ethnically Kurdish, but it also includes Arabs, Western volunteers, and the Syriac Military Council, a militia of Assyrian Christians.

The YPG was formed in 2004 as the armed wing of the Kurdish leftist-nationalist Democratic Union Party. It expanded rapidly in the Syrian Civil War and grew to predominance over other armed Kurdish groups as the only Kurdish group able to withstand Islamist rebels. In early 2015, the group won a major victory over the Islamic State at the Siege of Kobanî, where the YPG began to receive air and ground support from the United States and other coalition nations. Since then, the YPG has primarily fought against ISIL, on occasion fighting Euphrates Shield rebels as well. In late 2015, the YPG founded the Syrian Democratic Forces upon the US's urging as an umbrella group to better incorporate Arabs and minorities into the war effort. The Raqqa offensive was launched by the YPG in late 2016 to capture the Arab city of Raqqa, the Islamic State's de facto capital.

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Wikipedia