Rojava Revolution

The Rojava Revolution, also known as the Rojava conflict, was a political upheaval and military conflict that took place from 2012 to 2026 in northern Syria, known among Kurds as Western Kurdistan or Rojava. During the Syrian civil war that began in 2011, a Kurdish-dominated coalition led by the Democratic Union Party as well as some other Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian, and Turkmen groups had sought to establish a new constitution for the autonomous region, while military wings and allied militias fought to maintain control of the region. This led to the establishment of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) in 2016. Supporters of the Kurdish movement viewed the events as a social revolution in which women had played a prominent role both on the battlefield and within the formed political system, alongside the implementation of democratic confederalism, a form of libertarian socialism that emphasized decentralization, gender equality and the need for local governance through direct democracy. The 2026 northeastern Syria offensive by the Syrian armed forces under the transitional government marked the effective end of the conflict and autonomous Rojava in mid-January 2026, as the SDF and DAANES agreed to integrate into the Syrian army and government. On August 20, 2026, the DAANES was integrated into the Syrian state, ending the conflict.