YPG International
The YPG International or People's Protection Units International (Kurdish: ''YPG Enternasyonel'') is a military unit made up of foreign fighters in the Syrian Democratic Forces. It was created in December 2016 as the Antifascist International Tabûr (AIT) of the People's Protection Units (YPG). The unit is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the Syrian Civil War. Establishment and campaigns The brigade was founded in December 2016, with its first commander being the Italian-Moroccan, Karim Franceschi, known by his nom de guerre, Marcello. Initially, the unit operated as a semi-autonomous platoon under brigade commander Heval Taufik, who appointed Karim Franceschi as its leader. Franceschi, the only Kurdish speaker among the founding members, was by far the most experienced. His persistent lobbying with the YPG command, bolstered by his reputation as a competent warrior who had participated in the Siege of Kobanê, was instrumental in the creation of the International Batt ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kurdistan Workers' Party Insurgency
From 1978 until 2025, the Republic of Turkey was in an armed conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) ( Kurdish: ''Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê'') as well as its allied insurgent groups, both Kurdish and non-Kurdish. The initial core demand of the PKK was its separation from Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan. Later on, the PKK abandoned separatism in favor of autonomy and/or greater political and cultural rights for Kurds inside the Republic of Turkey. Although the Kurdish-Turkish conflict had spread to many regions, most of the conflict took place in Northern Kurdistan, which corresponded with southeastern Turkey. The PKK's presence in Iraqi Kurdistan resulted in the Turkish Armed Forces carrying out frequent ground incursions and air and artillery strikes in the region, and its influence in Syrian Kurdistan led to similar activity there. The conflict costed the economy of Turkey an estimated $300 to 450 billion, mostly in military costs. It also had ne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Karim Franceschi
Karim Marcello Franceschi (born March 31, 1989, in Casablanca) is an Italian activist, writer, and former soldier. He is best known for his involvement in the Syrian Civil War, where he fought with the People's Protection Units (YPG) against the Islamic State. He authored the book *''Il combattente''*, a memoir detailing his experiences in the war, which was published by Bur Rizzoli. Franceschi's combat experience includes participating in the Siege of Kobanê and serving as a commander in the Battle of Raqqa (2017). Biography Karim Marcello Franceschi was born in Morocco to an Italian father and a Moroccan mother. At the age of seven, he moved with his family to Senigallia, Italy. During his youth, Franceschi became involved with the Arvultura social center, where he participated in various solidarity initiatives. In 2015, following his involvement in a project supporting the Kurdish people, he enlisted in the People's Protection Units (YPG), the military force of Syrian K ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kurdish Languages
Kurdish (, , ) is a Northwestern Iranian language or group of languages spoken by Kurds in the region of Kurdistan, namely in southeast Turkey, northern Iraq, northwest Iran, and northern Syria. It is also spoken in northeast Iran, as well as in certain areas of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Kurdish varieties constitute a dialect continuum, with some mutually unintelligible varieties, and collectively have 26 million native speakers. The main varieties of Kurdish are Kurmanji, Sorani, and Southern Kurdish (). The majority of the Kurds speak Kurmanji, and most Kurdish texts are written in Kurmanji and Sorani. Kurmanji is written in the Hawar alphabet, a derivation of the Latin script, and Sorani is written in the Sorani alphabet, a derivation of the Arabic script. A separate group of non-Kurdish Northwestern Iranian languages, the Zaza–Gorani languages, are also spoken by several million ethnic Kurds.Kaya, Mehmet. The Zaza Kurds of Turkey: A Middle Eastern Minority i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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AQMI Flag Asymmetric
Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (, ), or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization (of al-Qaeda) that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it was then engaged in an insurgency campaign in the Maghreb and Sahel regions. The group originated as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). It has since declared its intention to attack European (including Spanish and French) and American targets. The group has been designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. Membership is mostly drawn from the Algerian and local Saharan communities (such as the Tuaregs and Berabiche tribal clans of Mali), as well as Moroccans from city suburbs of the North African country. The group has also been suspected of having links with the Horn of Africa-based militant group Al-Shabaab. AQIM has focused on kidnap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the semi-exclave of Alaska in the northwest and the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The United States asserts sovereignty over five Territories of the United States, major island territories and United States Minor Outlying Islands, various uninhabited islands in Oceania and the Caribbean. It is a megadiverse country, with the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, third-largest land area and List of countries and dependencies by population, third-largest population, exceeding 340 million. Its three Metropolitan statistical areas by population, largest metropolitan areas are New York metropolitan area, New York, Greater Los Angeles, Los Angel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean world, the Latin West of the Roman Empire, and "Western Christendom". Beginning with the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery, roughly from the 15th century, the concept of ''Europe'' as "the Western world, West" slowly became distinguished from and eventually replaced the dominant use of "Christendom" as the preferred endonym within the area. By the Age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, the concepts of "Eastern Europe" and "Western Europe" were more regularly used. The distinctiveness of Western Europe became most apparent during the Cold War, when Europe was divided for 40 years by the Iron Curtain into the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc, each characterised by distinct political and economical systems. Historical divisions ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nom De Guerre
A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each new recruit (or assigned to them by the captain of their company) as they enlisted in the French army. These pseudonyms had an official character and were the predecessor of Dog tag, identification numbers: soldiers were identified by their first names, their family names, and their ''noms de guerre'' (e. g. ''Jean Amarault dit Lafidélité''). These pseudonyms were usually related to the soldier's place of origin (e. g. ''Jean Deslandes dit Champigny'', for a soldier coming from a town named Champigny-sous-Varennes, Champigny), or to a particular physical or personal trait (e. g. ''Antoine Bonnet dit Prettaboire'', for a soldier ''prêt à boire'', ready to drink). In 1716, a ''nom de guerre'' was mandatory for every soldier; officers did n ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rolling Stone Magazine
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known for its coverage of rock music and political reporting by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine broadened and shifted its focus to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music. It has since returned to its traditional mix of content, including music, entertainment, and politics. The first magazine was released in 1967 and featured John Lennon on the cover, and was then published every two weeks. It is known for provocative photography and its cover photos, featuring musicians, politicians, athletes, and actors. In addition to its print version in the United States, it publishes content through Rollingstone.com and numerous international editions. The magazine experienced a ra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2019 Turkish Offensive Into North-eastern Syria
On 9 October 2019, the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the Syrian National Army (SNA) launched an offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and later it involved the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in northern Syria. It was code-named the Operation Peace Spring () by Turkey. On 6 October 2019, the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration ordered American troops to withdraw from northeastern Syria, where the United States American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War, had been supporting its Kurdish allies. The military operation began on 9 October 2019 when the Turkish Air Force launched airstrikes on Syria–Turkey border, border towns. The conflict resulted in the displacement of over 300,000 people and has caused the death of more than 70 civilians in Syria and 20 civilians in Turkey. Human rights violations have also been reported. Amnesty International stated that it had gathered evidence of war crimes and other violations committed by Turkey and Turkis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Deir Ez-Zor Campaign (2017–19)
Deir or DEIR may refer to: * ''Deir'' in Glossary of Arabic toponyms *Ed-Deir, Petra, English: 'The Monastery', a monumental rock-cut structure in Jordan *Tell Deir, an archaeological site in Lebanon *Deir ez-Zor or Ad-Deir, a city in Syria *Draft environmental impact report An environmental impact statement (EIS), under United States environmental law, is a document required by the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment". An EI ..., a document required in United States environmental law People with the surname * Edward Deir (1915–1990), Canadian canoeist See also * , include many place names and names of buildings, as ''deir'' is Arabic for 'monastery' or 'convent' * * Dair, the seventh letter of the Ogham alphabet * Der (other) * Deyr (other) {{disambiguation, geo, surname ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Operation Olive Branch
Operation Olive Branch () was an invasion by the Turkish Armed Forces and Syrian National Army (SNA) in the Kurdish-majority Afrin District of northwest Syria, against the People's Protection Units (YPG) of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The air war and use of major artillery ended as the Arab and Turkmen militias of the SNA entered the city of Afrin on 18 March 2018. Between 395 and 510 civilians were reported killed in the invasion. Other reported war crimes include the mutilation of a female corpse by SNA fighters, the killing of civilians due to indiscriminate shelling by Turkish forces, the alleged use of chemical gas by the Turkish Army, and the indiscriminate shooting of refugees fleeing from the conflict area into Turkey by the Gendarmerie General Command. In Turkey, the government issued restrictions on press coverage, with Reporters Without Borders noting that the Turkish media was expected to be in "service of the government and its war goals". Hundreds of pe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Raqqa Campaign (2016–2017)
The Raqqa campaign (codenamed Operation Wrath of Euphrates) was a military operation launched in November 2016 during the Rojava–Islamist conflict by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State (IS) in the Raqqa Governorate, with the goal of isolating and eventually capturing the Islamic State's capital city, Raqqa. The SDF's subsidiary goals included capturing the Tabqa Dam, the nearby city of al-Thawrah, and the Baath Dam further downstream. The campaign ended successfully in October 2017, with the capture of the city of Raqqa. The offensive was concurrent with the Battle of Sirte in Libya, the Battle of Mosul in Iraq, the Battle of al-Bab in the Aleppo Governorate, the Palmyra offensive, the reignition of fighting in Deir ez-Zor's siege, the Central Syria campaign, and the Mayadin offensive. Background In late October 2016, the United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called for an offensive on Raqqa to take place concurrent with the Bat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |