YPJ Commander: The fight at Tishrin is not just for a dam, but for all humanity, women and NE Syria

In the autonomous region of North and East Syria, where the women’s revolution is a core aspect, a social alternative to capitalism and patriarchy is being lived out from a women’s perspective. This development is not independent of the legacy of women’s struggles for peace and freedom worldwide and is also evident in the credo of the Women’s Defence Units (YPJ), which states: “Our struggle is a universal struggle.”

Rohilat Efrîn, a member of the YPJ General Command, spoke to ANF about the YPJ’s struggle in the last year, the war in the region today and the YPJ’s resistance in today’s struggle.

‘YPJ became the voice of not only Kurdish women but all women’

Efrîn remarked that the YPJ has succeeded in becoming the voice of not only Kurdish women but all women thanks to the struggle it has been waging for years, saying: “The YPJ, the voice and fighting power of all women, plays a pioneering mission in this war. With all its strength, it is waging a great struggle against the forces that try to break and destroy this power every day. Very valuable and great work has been carried out in this context. During this year, a great struggle was waged against the ISIS attacks against our region, and very comprehensive operations were carried out.”

The YPJ Commander pointed out that the numerous meetings and conferences organised during the year highlighted the vital importance of women’s joint organisation against all kinds of attacks. In this context, she added, the YPJ carried out high-level work.

‘2024 clearly showed the need for women to organise themselves in the field of defence’

According to Efrîn, the YPJ aims both to realise the plans it has set before it at the beginning of the year and to transform the mission it has undertaken for the women of the world in the organisational, ideological and military dimensions into a more active and results-oriented style of struggle: “The most striking agenda of the YPJ conference held last year was women and defence. In fact, this issue was discussed and debated to a great extent not only at the conference but also at the women’s defence workshop. 2024 clearly showed the need for women to organise themselves much more strongly in the field of defence, and to carry out their own defence. Women can only defend themselves and preserve their existence in World War III by ensuring their self-organisation and self-defence at the highest level.”

Efrîn continued: “The Women’s Defence Workshop revealed that the YPJ model, which has been organised with great struggle and determination for years, is the only way women can protect themselves. Here, all women have united around a single consensus. All women agreed that they can find themselves in this organization as long as there is a proper organisation and unity of defence.

‘YPJ is the defender and supporter of all women of the world’

A number of women, including Afghans and Iranians, managed to convey their messages and demands to us. As the YPJ, we have made it our main goal to reach these women. Thus, we tried to show the whole world that the YPJ is not only for Kurdish women, but is also the defender and supporter of all women of the world. We continued to move forward in 2024 with the same understanding and mentality and we managed to reach many women in the world and give our message.”

‘ISIS is trying to reorganise itself in a new form’

Pointing out that ISIS is planning 2025 as the year of resurrection, Rohilat Efrîn continued: “Even though ISIS was defeated territorially in Baghouz, is now trying to reorganise itself in a new form. We are witnessing in various areas how ISIS is trying to regain ground and is threatening the population, even attacking them physically on different occassions. In fact, it went through a new change of tactics in 2024 in order to bring itself into existence once again. With the transition from 2024 to 2025, it once again tried to show its presence with attacks in places such as Germany and America. It may even carry out attacks in different places in the same way. In fact, ISIS may once again see today’s attacks against the regions of North and East Syria and the Tishrin dam as an opportunity and carry out new attacks in many different countries. We have seen that, after the overthrow of the Assad government, that ISIS sees this year as a starting year for them to put their attack plans into action again, not only in North and East Syria, but also in all of Syria and abroad.

‘World War III contains many methods within itself’

As the YPJ, we carried out many special operations and actions last year. These actions were carried out by our special forces and internal security forces. In this way, many actions and attack plans of ISIS were frustrated. Today, there is a war in the region and in the world which is developed with high-level techniques. World War III contains many methods within itself. This is a war in which both cold and hot war methods are used intensively. In this sense, we, as the YPJ, concluded in the conferences and meetings we held during the year that we should focus on expert and professional branch trainings in order to develop a more equipped and professional defence force against this war. In this context, comprehensive branch trainings were carried out in academies during the year.

‘The Turkish state wants to rule Syria as a province’

Our YPJ forces have achieved strong results in these academies in order to respond to the attacks by the Turkish state and attacks from within with more professional military tactics and strategy. In today’s war, every state and power are trying to wage this war in line with its own interests and the interests of the ruling mentality of the states. We do not consider the intervention in Syria at the end of 2024 independent of the projects of international states and powers towards the Middle East. A regime was overthrown in just 12 days. It is not possible to plan this in 12 days; this is an intervention. Some states were assigned to this intervention. When we consider it within the framework of Syria and the politics of all states and powers, it is seen that the Turkish state has undertaken the task of governing Syria within the framework of its own mentality. The Turkish state wants to rule Syria as a province, just like the Ottoman Empire.

‘The Turkish state must leave Syrian territory’

We in North-East Syria are part of Syria. Of course, we also want the Syrian people to govern themselves. All political, military and social problems must be resolved by the Syrian people themselves without any interference by an outside power. However, when we look at what is happening today, it is the Turkish state that interferes the most. If Syria is to be ruled by a form of government to be established within the framework of a democratic system in which all components of the Syrian people and their cultures can live together, then the Turkish state must leave Syrian territory. The Turkish state cannot have any plans and projects on Syrian territory. Today, the presence of the Turkish state on Syrian territory is an occupation.”

‘Women have the power to give the strongest response to the heaviest attacks’

Stating that the only solution model for Syria is the democratic nation project, YPJ Commander Rohilat Efrîn said: “Since 2011, the Autonomous Administration has created a democratic model by bringing together all peoples, cultures and women. This has become a universal model. From now on, Syria can only be governed by this democratic model. The Autonomous Administration envisages all peoples living together in a democratic way. As the YPJ, we also believe in this. All peoples and women will be able to express their own colours freely on the basis of the democratic nation mentality. The new Syria must also take this as a basis for itself. A mentality to the contrary will result in massacre, occupation and genocide. Of course, we know very well that women are the ones who will suffer the most from this system and who will be its victims. We know that it is women who have been victimised and oppressed many times. If women have a strong resilience and attitude against the monist mentality, they will succeed in eliminating this mentality. The 12-year struggle has shown the region and the whole world that women have the power to give the strongest response to the heaviest attacks. The fact that women from all popular components take part in the women’s union in North and East Syria today and that they have a strong stance shows that they have the power and potential to stand against any attack.

‘All attacks are directed against the gains in North-East Syria’

In the last month, there have been rapid changes in Syria. For now, we do not know where the new Syria will lead, because there are gaps. There is a power at war against us. This power wants to destroy the gains made in North and East Syria by taking advantage of this gap. All attacks are directed against the gains. In this context, today’s resistance at the Tishrin Dam and the struggle in Qereqozax have determined the colour of the resistance in the new period. YPJ and YPG fighters are totally concentrated on the Tishrin Dam without any concerns. In the heart of every fighter is the spirit of protecting the gains that have been achieved and preserved so far with the sacrifices of thousands of martyrs over the years. We have lost dozens of martyrs this month alone. There is tremendous resistance against the invaders who are trying to invade North and East Syria by occupying the Tishrin Dam.

‘Our fighters are proud of the success and resistance at Tishrin’

In this sense, it is humanity, all women and North-East Syria that are defended at Tishrin, not just a dam. The Turkish state is persistently carrying out all kinds of attacks together with its mercenaries to take it. But I can say that the pride of the enemy has been shattered in recent days. It is our fighters who are proud of the success and resistance there. The fighters draw their strength from their people; from the mothers and families of martyrs. The martyrs of the revolution are being avenged there. The Tishrin Dam has been attacked since the beginning of the revolution, and these attacks continue today in the same way today. We believe that the struggle fought here will once again reveal the model and resistance of North and East Syria to inspire the world.”