The Afrin canton and city was once a peaceful area and, during the horrors of the Syrian Civil War, it was saved from the destruction of other areas by Kurdish self-defense groups which eventually coalesced around the YPG or People’s Defense Units. Afrin became a major quiet refuge for internal refugees (IDPs).
Afrin almost became part of Turkey in 1939 when the neighbouring Hatay province was separated from Syria although it had a demographic Arab majority, and given to Turkey in a dirty and still disputed deal by the French, and has been aggressively Turkified ever since.
Afrin was sold out. The same day that the invasion began President Erdogan agreed to build a Russian Nuclear plant and allow a 2nd Turkstream pipeline, in exchange for key invasion support and for airspace permission for its air force to bomb Afrin (Efrin).
During the fighting, the Kurds of Afrin were forcibly expelled from their homes, lands and businesses and forced to flee. Minority groups, such as Yazidis, were declared infidels and murdered.
Since March 2018, human rights violations against the indigenous population have been constant, kidnappings, rapes, murders, demographic replacement, thefts, environmental destruction including 280,000 century-old olive trees of the Kurdish region.
The areas around Afrin were occupied by a plethora of divided Syrian jihadist groups from around Syria which had formed when Qatar, Saudi, Turkey and the US had directed their funds and arms to religious extremists in the first phase of the civil war and many who fled north to Idlib and Afrin due to the Russian backed Assad victories,
The Afrin areas were often contested between elements of the Syrian regime and over 50 Syrian rebel and jihadist groups, many claiming divine rights. Turkey controls all border supplies and over time co-opted the Syrian rebel groups and turned them into proxies. Turkey endlessly accused the YPG Kurdish defense in Afrin of being “terrorists” even though there was never any proof of a single “terror” attack on Turkey.
Supervised by Turkey the religious jihadist infested the area, looting, kidnapping women for slaves and ransom and murdering civilians to take their property. In many ways, they behave like ISIS, targeting minorities and each other in a depraved manner.
Such a move could weaken the SDF to the point of collapse and we hope the reports are mere rumors.
The revolutionary AANES constitution is reflects the democratic principles, communal work, human rights, ethnic and religious tolerance, Woman-Life-Freedom, gender equality, and the decentralization of power already being implemented in their liberated area..
The revolution, unique in the middle east if not the world, follows the teachings of Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned forever on a Turkish island. It began in Turkey in where there are over 20 million repressed Kurds, when their Ocalan organised the PKK defenders to make a 2nd successful truce with Turkey, until the Erdogan regime foced the collapse of the agreement in 2015 and drowned the civil revolution in blood, even bombing Kurdish cities in Turkey like Nusaybin to rubble.
City of Nusaybin in Turkey after Erdogan’s ‘Peace Police’ operation. Zehra Dogan was jailed for painting a picture based on this photo.
The revolution survived however in NE Syria. The Assad regime had to abandon the area due to almost losing the civil war.
The Turkish armed jihadi ISIS Caliphate had been sweeping north Syria, but the Kurdish defenders defeated them in the epic Siege of Kobanî (Sept 2014 to Feb 2915) despite the destruction of the city, with the International Coalition (mainly the USA) finally intervening with some air support.
After the Kobani victory the Kurdish defenders (YPG men and YPJ women) went on to organize the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces, now over 100k strong) as a host of other militia groupings joined them, Arabs of all sorts, Yazides, Womens militias, Christians, Syriacs, Turkmen, Armenians, etc
The rest is history, the SDF defeated ISIS in Manbij and set up a vibrant unique multi cultural multi religious city following the communal liberation agenda and continued east.
(However in January 2025, taking advantage of the fall of the Assad regime, Manbij was finally conquered by Erdogan’s horde of Turkish backed jihadi mercenaries in an orgy of looting and rape, even executing the injured SDF defenders in their hospital beds.(videos)
Serekaniye in Rojava, Syria was seized and ethnically cleansed by Turkey in part of its 3rd invasion labeled ‘Operation Peace Spring’, thousands of residents are still surviving in internal refugee camps
The SDF went on to defeat the ISIS Caliphate, finally taking over their capital of Raqqa (2017) with air support (which is now rebuilt and a thriving, free, minority Kurdish multi-ethnic city) and driving them out of all NE Syria, including the Arab area in Deir Ezzor, where most of the limited oil reserves are located.
Feb 2025 – Is the END of Rojava Looming? – you can help save a unique human experiment in real time –
Trump is rumored to be planning to withdraw the 2000 US troops and cancel its support for the SDF/AANES in suppressing and guarding ISIS.
The region’s ethnic and religious diversity is its defining feature, which the AANES authorities often highlight as part of their political platform promoting coexistence and tolerance among the different groups.
AANES/SDF would objectively be better with almost any other guarantor than the genocidal predator capitalist USA, which reduced Syria to starvation levels since 2019 under Trump’s orders under the draconian Caesar Act Sanctions (now paused) as revenge for its proxies not winning the civil war.
How can we save the Rojava Revolution?
The best thing we can do is to promote International support. The Kurdish Diaspora is strongly behind AANES/SDF, also the Kurds in Turkey, though heavily suppressed.
There are dozens of support groups especially in Europe as well as some ONGs and Human Rights Groups who could try to deliver some aid in the event of a US withdrawal and major Turkish invasion.
However there is extensive Rojava support media, also international and multilingual, and one of the chief ways you can help defend the revolution is by sharing these media reports, including many videos and trying everything to make mainstream media include them.
It is possible to volunteer, especially if you have medical or military experience, and there still are international groups that can organize the trip. Many international comrades have been killed defending Rojava.
Unfortunately Rojava is blockaded on three sides, for the moment aid can enter via Iraq where there is some Yazidi and Kurdish support but this could be blocked if/when the US leaves Syria and/or keeps its promise to leave Iraq.
What are most needed perhaps are thousands of lightweight drones which could even stymie NATO’s 2nd largest army in guerrilla warfare. Turkey has always been wary of committing its own troops, mostly forced draftees and prone to a bad image and some embarrassing losses.
Other options look unviable or unlikely:
Trump abhors the local ideology of course. He betrayed the SDF back in 2019 and let Turkey invade and ethnically cleanse the border area. He also declared in a macho rave that the US was only there for the oil. Ever since then the entire Arab media always repeats that Rojava exists to help the USA steal their oil (though the quantity is insignificant and there is no modern refinery).
As for the new HTS “inclusive” regime in Damascus – it’s looking grim. Jolani, now named Syria’s ‘President’ has declared all militia groupings are being integrated under his control into the State army, except the SDF which is happy to be an autonomous part of the new “inclusive” State – but refuses to disband and face destruction and likely genocide.
There’s a fundamental contradiction between the brilliant Constitution of Rojava and the ideology of President Jolani, former leader of the Al Qaeda ‘head choppers’.
The AANES Constitution represents a region where various ethnic and religious communities coexist peacefully, where women and minorities are guaranteed equal rights, and where local governance is based on the principles of autonomy and self-determination.
Iran
Then there is Iran, could it help Rojava survive? Unfortunately ‘Woman-Life-Freedom’ is anathema to the present clerical regime. Indeed several women in Irani Kurdistan are right now facing the imminent Death Penalty for their Jineology views. –Iran: Two Kurdish Women at Risk of Execution
Russia
Could Russia intervene to stop the Turkish invasion destroying Rojava?. – It’s true that Russia has played the peacemaker, sometimes limiting Turkish atrocities against Syrian Kurds in the past, although they betrayed them by gifting the Afrin area to Turkey,by allowing their ongoing invasion, occupation and ethnic cleansing, in exchange for an oil pipeline. In any case Russia is now out of the picture, being the main backer of the defunct Assad regime.
Also there is Israel, now grabbing a slice of southern Syria… It’s doubtful whether the SDF would accept aid from the genocidal zionist settler regime even to save their own lives, and very unlikely that Israel would ever offer.
Israel
Finally there is International support. The Kurdish Diaspora is strongly behind AANES/SDF, also the Turkish Kurds, though heavily suppressed. There are dozens of support groups especially in Europe as well as some ONGs and Human Rights Groups who could try to deliver some aid in the event of a US withdrawal and major Turkish invasion.
Turkey’s jihadi mercenaries are now better trained, well armed and supported, nevertheless they are an unstable conglomeration of many authoritarian militias whose base loyalty is to Turkish promises of looting and women.
SDF local support is at it highest ever with daily demonstrations and displays of local organisations, especially youth, declaring they will fight to the death.
This is also evidenced by the continuing convoys traveling to the Tishreen Dam frontline , despite daily Turkish massacres, to act a human shields.
At the Tishreen Dam crossing of the Euphrates tens of thousands of multi ethnic civilians have traveled in convoys from all over the AANES area, taking turns at an ongoing day and night demonstration in freezing conditions, with the hope of shaming Turkey before international opinion into halting the invasion.
The Free 
