Narin Afrin (b. 1974) is the

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 n ...

of Meysa Abdo, a leader of the

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

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

(YPG),

Women's Protection Units The Women's Protection Units (YPJ) or Women's Defense Units is an all-female militia involved in the Syrian civil war. The YPJ is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the armed forces of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and Ea ...

(YPJ), and Kobane resistance, notably during the 2014–2015

Siege of Kobanî The siege of Kobanî was launched by the Islamic State (IS) on 13 September 2014, in order to capture the Kobanî Canton and its main city of Kobanî (also known as Kobanê or Ayn al-Arab) in northern Syria, in the ''de facto'' autonomous regi ...

Background

Narin Afrin was a resistance leader during the 2014–2015

, representing the Kurdish

(YPG) and

Peshmerga The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...

fighters. The resistance group, the People's Protection Units (YPG), is secular, politically left-wing, and the armed wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). She also leads the

(YPJ), an all-female force affiliated with the YPG. Afrin is the

of Meysa Abdo, born c. 1974, though a Kurdish political consultant has told the ''

International Business Times The ''International Business Times'' is an American online newspaper that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called ''IBTimes'' or ''IBT'', offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on business and ...

'' that Abdo is a pseudonym as well. Female fighters choose their names during military training as a way to separate their future from their past. "Afrin" refers to her Kurdish village of

Afrin, Syria Afrin (; ) is a Kurdish majority city in northern Syria. In the Afrin District, it is part of the Aleppo Governorate. The total population of the district was recorded at 172,095 people, of whom 70,000 lived in the town of Afrin itself. The ...

, and "Narin" was a name she liked. Afrin avoids media spotlight—most published photos of Afrin were not actually her—and has expressed worry about the media portrayal of the Women's Protection Units, which focuses on the "cause célèbre" of empowered, "bronzed women toting guns" in a conservative region associated with a ruthless Islamic State. In 2014, the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' reported that Afrin had become a "local legend" among Kurds. She had studied with

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...

, the founder of the

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 ...

(PKK). She had participated in the PKK for 20 years prior to the Siege of Kobanî, having previously fought in Cezire (

Qamishli Qamishli is a city in northeastern Syria on the Syria–Turkey border, adjoining the city of Nusaybin in Turkey. The Jaghjagh River flows through the city. With a 2004 census population of 184,231, it is the List of cities in Syria, ninth most-po ...

region) before moving to Kobanî in early 2013.

References

External links

Who is the Peshmerga Princess, Narin Afrin, who leads troops making their stand in Kobane?
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BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afrin, Narin Living people Military personnel of the Syrian civil war People's Defense Units People from Kobanî Kurdish military personnel Kurdish female military and paramilitary personnel Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the Women's Protection Units 20th-century Kurdish people 21st-century Kurdish people 21st-century Kurdish women