SUMMARY

The PYD’s (Partiya Yektîya Demokrat, Democratic Union Party) was a Kurdish political party in Syria. It advocated Kurdish nationalism and the right for Kurds to self-government.

Its relationship to PKK (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, Kurdistan Workers’ Party (for more information, see Turkey: Kurdistan Aside from Turkey, PKK has further been involved in violence in Iraq)) – the Kurdish rebel group in Turkey is somewhat ambiguous: it is thought to have been created by the PKK as its Syrian arm in 2003. PYD itself however claims it is not a PKK-offshoot, although it holds membership in the Kurdish umbrella organisation KCK (Koma Civakên Kurdistan, Union of Kurdish Communities), which has PKK’s charter as well as leadership. PYD and PKK are further linked through YPG (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel, People’s Defence Corps), the armed wing of PYD, which was trained by PKK. It is possible that the denial of ties to the PKK is a strategy to gain support among Syria’s Kurds by depicting itself as a Kurdish party for them, and to gain increased legitimacy internationally, although the PKK likely determines PYD’s decisions to a large extent.

PYD opposes the anti-Assad groups’ relationship with Turkey (which is seen as opposing Kurdish goals) as well as their espousal of Islamism and Arab nationalism. It is a member of the NCB (National Coordination Body for Democratic Change), which is opposed to intervention in Syria by foreign countries. The group has both cooperated with and clashed with the Syrian government. In 2014 PYD was one of the main actors fighting IS in Syria.

On 10 October 2015 PYD joined the SDF alliance after this date all PYD violence adhere to this actor.

PYD has been involved in the intrastate and non-state and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.