The International Revolutionary People's Guerrilla Forces (IRPGF) was a

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an e ...

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

fighters from around the world. Its formation was announced on 31 March 2017. According to the group, their goals were to defend the social revolution in

Rojava Rojava may refer to: * Syrian Kurdistan, also known as Rojava, the geographical region where Kurds historically settled within present-day Syria * Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Democratic Autonomous Administ ...

in northern Syria, and to spread anarchism. The group announced its dissolution on 24 September 2018. The IRPGF had been part of the

International Freedom Battalion The International Freedom Battalion (; ; ), commonly abbreviated as IFB or EÖT, is a Revolutionary socialism, revolutionary socialist armed group consisting of Left-wing politics, leftist Foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war, foreign fighte ...

since April 2017. Turkish media have described them as a terrorist organization and part of the network of the outlawed

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...

Affiliation

The group was a part of the

since April 2017, and they are the second anarchist group to join after the Greek unit RUIS. They participate frequently in the campaign activities of the brigade in social networks. On 29 May, the IRPGF issued a statement in tribute to the commander of the

United Freedom Forces The United Freedom Forces (, or BÖG) is a joint expatriate militia of several revolutionary socialist organizations from Turkey, most notably the Revolutionary Communard Party (DKP), active in the Rojava conflict of the Syrian Civil War. ...

Mehmet Kurnaz (Ulaş Bayraktaroglu), who was killed in combat on the Raqqa Front while fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. They define him as a true friend of IRPGF. On the 31st of the same month, the IRPGF sent representatives and speakers to the City of Derek (Canton of Cizîrê) at the funeral ceremony to four martyrs of the International Freedom Battalion and the People's Protection Units, Mehmet Kurnaz (Ulaş Bayraktaroglu) commander of the United Freedom Forces, Muzaffer Kandemir (fighter) of the United Freedom Forces, Elî Mihemed Mizil (Şêr Zagros) and Nimet Tûrûg (Baran Cudi) of the People's Protection Units.

Armed struggle and involvement in the Syrian Civil War

Their public presence was confirmed at multiple martyr ceremonies in Rojava over 2017. Having fought along with the three most recent martyrs of the International Freedom Battalion, they were present at the funeral ceremonies for DKP leader and United Freedom Forces (BÖG) commander Ulaş Bayraktaroğlu, Tufan Eroğluer (Hasan Ali) from BÖG and Ayşe Deniz Karacagil (Destan Temmuz) from MLKP.

The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army

The Queer Insurrection and Liberation Army (TQILA), a

queer anarchist Queer anarchism, or anarcha-queer, is an anarchist school of thought that advocates anarchism and social revolution as a means of queer liberation and abolition of systems of oppression such as homophobia, lesbophobia, transmisogyny, biphobia, ...

subunit of the IRPGF, formed in July 2017 as a group of foreign militia who came to fight alongside the Kurdish

People's Defense Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), also called People's Protection Units, is a libertarian socialist US-backed Kurdish militant group in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The YPG mostly consists of K ...

(YPG). Its formation

went viral Viral phenomena or viral sensations are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the te ...

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

and was widely reported and celebrated in the Western press.

Gallery

IRPGF in Raqqa city 1.png, An IRPGF fighter during the Battle of Raqqa in 2017 IFB members at Destan Temmuz burial in Kobanê.jpg, Fighters from the IRPGF and IFB at the burial of Destan Temmuz, an MLKP fighter. Ni Una Menos from Raqqa.png, Solidarity with

Ni una menos Ni una menos (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Not one

oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

less") is a Latin American Fourth-wave feminism, fourth-wave grassroots feminist movement, which started in Argentina and has spread across several Latin American countries, that camp ...

. Fighters of the International Freedom Battalion.jpg, IFB and IRPGF members posing with their flags IRPGF fighters in Tabqa 5.jpg, An IRPGF fighter during the Battle of Tabqa IRPGF fighters in Tabqa 4.jpg, IRPGF fighters resting during the Battle of Tabqa IRPGF fighters in Tabqa 2.jpg, A

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

of IRPGF fighters during the Battle of Tabqa IRPGF fighters in Tabqa 3.jpg, IRPGF fighters crossing

Lake Assad Lake Assad (, ''Buhayrat al-Assad'') is a reservoir on the Euphrates in Raqqa Governorate, Syria. It was created in 1974 when construction of the Tabqa Dam was completed. Lake Assad is Syria's largest lake, with a maximum capacity of and a maxi ...

by boat IRPGF fighters in Tabqa 1.jpg, An IRPGF fighter firing at enemy positions in Tabqa (Heval) Black October - IRPGF.png, A member of the IRPGF IRPGF flag.jpg, IRPGF fighters displaying the group's flag

References

External links

Nace la guerrilla anarquista “IRPGF” en Rojava para luchar por la revolución en Kurdistán y el mundo – ''Ruptura Colectiva''IRPGF on TwitterIRPGF on FacebookiRPGF on archive.org
{{Syrian Kurdistan topics Anarchism in Syria Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Defunct anarchist militant groups Defunct communist militant groups Expatriate units and formations in the Syrian civil war Guerrilla organizations International Freedom Battalion International LGBTQ organizations LGBTQ organizations based in Syria LGBTQ anarchism Resistance movements Revolutionary movements