Kurdish Forces
Overview (BLUF)
Kurdish Forces is a collective analytical term encompassing the constellation of armed Kurdish and Kurdish-led organisations operating across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, northeastern Syria, and Turkey. The three primary components — the Peshmerga (Iraqi Kurdistan), the Syrian Democratic Forces/YPG (Rojava/northeastern Syria), and the HPG (PKK armed wing in Turkey and Iraq) — are distinct organisations with different command structures, international relationships, and strategic objectives, but share ethnic Kurdish identity, overlapping ideology, and in some cases direct command linkages.
The term “Kurdish Forces” is used primarily in Western analytical and policy literature to denote the ensemble of Kurdish-aligned armed actors, particularly in the context of the anti-ISIS campaign (2014–2019) in which US-led coalition forces partnered with SDF/YPG as the primary ground force.
Components
| Force | Location | Command | US relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peshmerga | Iraqi Kurdistan (KRG) | Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG); divided into KDP-Peshmerga and PUK-Peshmerga | Recognised ally; advise-and-assist relationship |
| YPG (People’s Protection Units) | Northeastern Syria (Rojava) | PYD (Democratic Union Party); ideologically affiliated with PKK | Core of SDF; primary US partner force vs. ISIS |
| SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) | Northeastern Syria | Multi-ethnic umbrella; YPG as backbone (~70%) | Primary US partner force since 2015 |
| HPG | Turkey/Iraq (Qandil) | PKK Central Committee | Designated terrorist by US/EU/Turkey |
US-Turkey Strategic Tension
The US-Turkey tension over Kurdish forces is the defining fault line in the NATO alliance:
- US armed, advised, and embedded special operations forces with YPG/SDF for the ISIS campaign (Operation Inherent Resolve, 2015–2019)
- Turkey regards YPG as a PKK front and demanded US disassociation as a condition of improved NATO bilateral relations
- Turkey conducted unilateral operations in Syria — Operation Olive Branch (Afrin, 2018) and Operation Peace Spring (northeast Syria, 2019) — against YPG/SDF territories, displacing US-Kurdish partners
- US-Turkey disagreement over Kurdish forces contributed to Turkey’s delays in ratifying NATO membership bids (Finland, Sweden)
Key Connections
- PKK — ideological parent of YPG/SDF; designated terrorist organisation
- Turkey — primary state adversary of PKK/YPG
- Iraq — Peshmerga (KRG) primary theatre
- Syria — YPG/SDF primary theatre
- United States — primary patron of SDF; tension with Turkey over YPG
- Kurdistan — PKK Conflict and Kurdish Political Futures: Strategic Assessment — primary assessment
Sources
- RAND, The Kurdish Forces in Northern Syria: Status and Options (2023). Confidence: High.
- ICG, Turkey’s Kurdish Conflict Enters a New Phase (2024). Confidence: High.
- US DoD Inspector General, Operation Inherent Resolve Reports (ongoing). Confidence: High for SDF/US relationship.