Peshmerga Roj (), also known as the Rojava Peshmerga (), or the Roj Army () are the military wing of the KDP-S,

Kurdish National Council The Kurdish National Council in Syria (KNCS, , ENKS; ) or Kurdish National Council (KNC) is a Kurds in Syria, Syrian Kurdish political party. While the KNC had initially more international support than the ruling Democratic Union Party (Syria), ...

and KRG in Syria. They are pro-

KDP KDP may refer to: Businesses *Kindle Direct Publishing, an e-publisher that bans without reason *Keurig Dr Pepper, a beverage conglomerate Political parties * Karpatendeutsche Partei (KdP; Carpathian Germany Party), Czechoslovakia * Katipunan ...

and take orders from President Barzani of

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan () refers to the Kurds, Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdist ...

History

The KNC leader claimed that in response to the rising military power of the

YPG 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 ...

and YPJ, the armed wings of the PYD, the KNC formed its own paramilitary wing, the Peshmerga Roj. According to the claims of Ibrahim Biro, the Rojava Peshmergas are mostly recruited from Syrian Kurdish refugees and

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

deserters in

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

. Trained by

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 ...

and

Zeravani The Zerevani (, meaning "Guard" or "Guardian") (or Zeravani, sometimes Zeravani Army) are the militarized force (described as a gendarmerie by some) operated by Kurdistan Regional Government. Organization and Mission The Zêrevanî are und ...

under Major General Bahjat Taymas, the Roj Peshmerga had a claimed strength of 3,000 fighters by June 2016 and 5,000 by December 2018. Their primary purpose has been defending Kurdish areas, and fighting the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

Battles

Between 2016 and 2018, the Rojava Peshmergas were mostly fighting ISIL in Iraq. On 2 March 2017, there were clashes between the

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 ...

and

Yazidi Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish-speaking endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The majority of Yazidis remaining in ...

militias affiliated with the

PKK 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 Kurdish militant political organization and armed gue ...

Sinjar Sinjar (; , ) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its population in 2013 was estimated at 88,023, and is predominantly Yazidi. History ...

resulting in the deaths of five as well as two militants affiliated to the PKK who attempted to prevent the clashes. At least four Peshmergas were also injured in the clashes.

Conflict with other Kurdish groups

Due to the political tensions between the PYD and the KNC, the Peshmerga Roj have not been able to enter

. During the

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 ...

, the KNC offered to send 200 Peshmerga Roj fighters to support the YPG's defenses, but this offer was rejected by the PYD as they wanted all

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 ...

units to fight as part of the

. The KNC leader has several times claimed that the YPG even blocked the Peshmerga Roj who had been trained in

from entering Rojava at all. Since the formation of the SDF, the YPG officials have stated that the Peshmerga Roj are welcome to join and fight under SDF command, but the KNC have rejected joining SDF, and stated that "they he SDFhave a good relation with the Syrian regime, that's why we cannot join them." Despite their tensions with the PYD, however, the KNC has also rejected inquires of

Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

groups to send the Peshmerga Roj to

Azaz Azaz () is a city in northwest Syria, roughly north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 at the 2004 census.

to defend the city against both

ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...

as well as the YPG. Bahjat Taymas declared that the Peshmerga Roj "don't want to fight Kurds, only

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

." After the

called the Peshmerga Roj "mercenaries", Haji Kalo, one of Peshmerga Roj's leaders, said that "mercenaries is only applicable to the PKK, the Peshmerga Roj just wants to serve Kurdistan". On 17 December 2018, US envoy to Syria

James Franklin Jeffrey James Franklin Jeffrey (born February 8, 1946) is an American diplomat who served most recently as the United States Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy to the International military intervention against ISIL. He ha ...

informed the press that some Rojava Peshmergas have been deployed across the Iraq–Syria border. The disputes between the PYD and the KNC, however, prevent the Peshmerga Roj from entering Rojava despite the requests from the international community. One of the main obstacles have been the KNC's links with Turkey and the fear of local people believed to be PYD-supporters that the Peshmerga Roj could be used against Rojava in future. The KNC states that the PYD oppose Peshmerga Roj because they want to maintain monopoly on power and that the PYD fears that the Peshmerga Roj could put an end to the PYD's enforcement of authoritarian rule over Kurdish areas in Syria. While described as mercenaries for Turkey by pro-PYD supporters, the Peshmerga Roj and their KNC administration in return accuse the PYD of being mercenaries for Iran and too close to Assad whose family has oppressed Kurds for half a century. They justify their links to Turkey as a geopolitical necessity if Kurds in Syria are to gain legitimate autonomy from Damascus.

References

Sources

* {{Syrian Civil War Anti-ISIL factions in Iraq Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Kurdish nationalism in Syria Kurdish nationalism in Iraq Kurdish nationalist organizations Kurdish secession in Syria Organizations based in Syria Kurdish organisations Military wings of nationalist parties Syrian Kurdish organizations Peshmerga