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Revision as of 01:39, 16 June 2014
Syrian Kurdistan (Western Kurdistan)Rojavayê Kurdistanê (Kurdish)
Syrian Kurdistan or Western Kurdistan (Kurdish: Rojavayê Kurdistan), also commonly referred to as simply Rojava meaning the West in Kurdish, is a de factoautonomous region in northern and north-eastern Syria. Syrian Kurdistan is part of the larger geographic area of Kurdistan, which refers to parts of eastern Turkey (Turkish Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Iranian Kurdistan) and northern Syria (Syrian Kurdistan) inhabited mainly by Kurds.
Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges. Since 2012, much of Syrian Kurdistan has been controlled by Kurdish militias as part of the Syrian Civil War and in November 2013 representatives from Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian Christian and other smaller minorities declared a de facto government in the region.
Etymology
The name Kurdistan literally means Land of the Kurds. In the Iraqi Constitution, it is referred to as Kurdistan Region. The name is prefixed by "Syrian" or "Western", referring to the relative geographic or political designation of the region. In the Kurdish languages, the name is simply Rojava meaning the West in Kurdish.
During the Syrian civil war, the Popular Protection Units (YPG) were created under the administration of the Kurdish Supreme Committee to control the Kurdish inhabited areas in Syria. On 19 July 2012, the YPG captured the city of Kobanê (Ayn al-Arab), and the next day captured Amûdê and Efrîn. The two main Kurdish groups, the Kurdish National Council (KNC) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD), afterwards formed a joint leadership council to run the captured cities. By 24 July, the Syrian Kurdish cities of Dêrika Hemko (Al-Malikiyah), Serê Kaniyê (Ra's al-'Ayn), Dirbêsî (Al-Darbasiyah) and Girkê Legê (Al-Ma'bada) had also come under the control of the Popular Protection Units. The only major Kurdish inhabited cities that remained under government control were Hasaka and Qamishli.
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