Asayish (North and East Syria)

Last updated

Internal Security Forces
Asayish (Asayîş)
Manbij Asayish Flag.png
Flag used in the Jazira, Euphrates, and Afrin Regions [1]
Active2012–present
Country Syria
Allegiance Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
Type Police
RoleSecurity and policing
Sizec. 15,000 [2] (2016)
Engagements
Website http://www.asayish.com/
Commanders
Chief of Asayish forcesCiwan Ibrahim [2]
SpokesmanBrig. Gen. Aba Ali Hassan [3]
Members of the Asayish Kurdish YPG Fighters (15943141741).jpg
Members of the Asayish
Asayish Anti-Terror Forces (HAT) in Al-Hasakah Governorate in September 2021 Asayish Anti-terror Forces (HAT) attend Bradley Fighting Vehicle and Mortar Range.jpg
Asayish Anti-Terror Forces (HAT) in Al-Hasakah Governorate in September 2021

The Internal Security Forces, [lower-alpha 1] also known as the Asayish [lower-alpha 2] in the Jazira, Euphrates, and Afrin Regions, [1] is the internal security and police force in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Formed in the early stages of the Syrian Civil War, it had initially been established to police areas controlled by the Kurdish Supreme Committee. In October 2013, the Asayish claimed to have 4,000 members; [4] by 2017, the number had reportedly risen to over 15,000. [2]

Contents

Structure

Organization

According to the Constitution of North and East Syria, policing is the responsibility of the autonomous sub-regions. Overall, the local Asayish forces are composed of 26 official bureaus that aim to provide security and solutions to social problems. The six main units of the Asayish are Checkpoints Administration, Anti-Terror Forces Command (Kurdish : Hêzên Antî Teror, HAT), Intelligence Directorate, Organized Crime Directorate, Traffic Directorate and Treasury Directorate. By 2016, 218 Asayish centers were established and 385 checkpoints with 10 Asayish members in each checkpoint were set up. 105 Asayish offices provide security against ISIL on the frontlines across the region. Larger cities have general directorates that are responsible for all aspects of security including road controls. Each sub-region has a HAT command and each Asayish center organizes itself autonomously. [5] Overall chief of the police is the former journalist Ciwan Ibrahim. [2]

In the Jazira Region, the Asayish are further complemented by the Assyrian Sutoro police force, which is organized in every area with Christian population, and provides security and solutions to social problems in collaboration with other Asayish units. [5] Though the Sutoro is officially subordinate to the Asayish, and represented on the Asayish executive board, it operates largely autonomous in regard to its internal affairs. Thus, it patrols the Christian neighborhoods of Qamishli without interference by the Asayish, and when the Sutoro members want to appoint someone, they don't need the approval of the Asayish. [2] The Assyrian Khabour Guards and Nattoreh also provide security in towns along the Khabur River. [6]

On 17 May 2017, the Raqqa Internal Security Forces were established for policing in Raqqa. [7]

On 25 May 2017, a female branch of the Asayish was established in Al-Shaddadah. [8]

On 4 July 2018, a conference of the Internal Security Forces took place in Raqqa. At the conference, two flags were adopted for the ISF; one saying only Internal Security Forces in Arabic, used in the Raqqa, Tabqa, Deir Ezzor, and Manbij regions, and one saying Asayish as well, used in the Jazira, Afrin, and Euphrates regions. [1]

Strength, composition and budget

The Asayish police has around 15,000 personnel: 10,000 in the Jazira Region, 3,000 in the Afrin Region, and 2,000 in the Euphrates Region. Ethnically, Kurds dominate the Asayish, though half of the active personnel in Jazira Region is Arab, while around 300 Turkmens have also enlisted, mostly in Tell Abyad. About 30% of the Asayish are women. Members of the force are paid $120 monthly salaries, which is above the average monthly salaries of Syrian civil servants, so that Asayish employment is rather attractive. [2]

Involvement in military operations

While Asayish is primarily a police, the forces of Asayish were involved in tensions against the National Defense Forces, a pro-government militia. The tensions led to the Battle of Hasakah, in August 2016. Ultimately, the Syrian Arab Army was forced to give up neighborhoods in the city. [9] Following rising tensions in the city of Qamishli the Asayish and contingents of its HAT units were embroiled in further conflict with the National Defense Forces leading to the Battle of Qamishli, in April 2021. [10]

In the course of the Raqqa campaign, the Asayish established the Raqqa Internal Security Forces. [11]

Gender equality

Female members of the Asayish in Kobani Asayish members in Kobani.png
Female members of the Asayish in Kobanî

As with other institutions in the autonomous region, the Asayish are striving for a force based on gender equality. An estimated 25% of Asayish members are women, and the local Asayish forces are co-led by a man and woman. In addition to protecting civilians from armed attacks, the Asayish has created a special branch composed solely of women which is dedicated to gender-based violence, family disputes between women and protection of women during protests, and public celebrations. Their objective is to take care of every case in which a woman gets involved, from gender-based violence to a bank robbery.

Female members of the force face additional risk from attacks by radical Islamists. [12] However, joining the Asayish is perceived as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. [13]

Citizen-led policing

Flag of Civilian Defence Forces (Hezen Parastina Civaki, HPC). Flag of Civil Defence Forces (Hezen Parastina Civaki).png
Flag of Civilian Defence Forces (Hêzên Parastina Civakî, HPC).

Throughout the region, the municipal Civilian Defense Forces (HPC) [14] and the regional Self-Defense Forces (HXP) [15] also serve local-level security. [5]

Flag of Women's Civil Defence Forces (Hezen Parastina Civaki Jin, HPC-Jin). Women's branch of Civilian Defence Forces. Flag of Women's Civil Defence Forces (Hezen Parastina Civaki Jin).png
Flag of Women's Civil Defence Forces (Hêzên Parastina Civakî Jin, HPC-Jin). Women's branch of Civilian Defence Forces.

According to the pro-PYD Peace in Kurdistan Campaign, the region's government is working towards providing all citizens with Asayish training. The ultimate hope is that once the vast majority of citizens have been trained, security can be maintained amongst the citizens and the Asayish itself can be dissolved. [16]

Training

In addition to the use of weapons, Asayish members are also trained in "mediation, ethics, the history of Kurdistan, imperialism, the psychological war waged by popular culture and the importance of education and self-critique." [16] The Internal Security Forces receive training and equipment from the US Department of Defense, including Hêzên Anti-Terror (HAT) who act as the Internal Security Forces’ special forces, carrying out counterinsurgency operations such as High Value Target (HVT) raids [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

Qamishli is a city in northeastern Syria on the Syria–Turkey border, adjoining the city of Nusaybin in Turkey. The Jaghjagh River flows through the city. With a 2004 census population of 184,231, it is the ninth most-populous city in Syria and the second-largest in Al-Hasakah Governorate after Al-Hasakah. Qamishli has traditionally been a Christian Assyrian majority city, but is now predominantly populated by Kurds with large numbers of Arabs and Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians. It is 680 kilometres (420 mi) northeast of Damascus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assyrians in Syria</span> Ethnic group

Assyrians in Syria also known as Syriacs are an ethnic and linguistic minority that are indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia, the north-eastern half of Syria. Syrian-Assyrians are people of Assyrian descent living in Syria, and those in the Assyrian diaspora who are of Syrian-Assyrian heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Hasakah</span> City in al-Hasakah, Syria

Al-Hasakah is the capital city of the Al-Hasakah Governorate, in the northeastern corner of Syria. With a 2023 estimated population of 422,445 Al-Hasakah is predominantly populated by Arabs with large numbers of Kurds, Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians and Chechens. Al-Hasakah is 80 kilometres south of the city of Qamishli. The Khabur River, a tributary of the Euphrates River, flows west–east through the city. The Jaghjagh River flows into the Khabur from the north at Al-Hasakah. A portion of the city is a Syrian government-controlled enclave, comprising the city center and various government buildings, with the rest of the city controlled by the AANES.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syriac Union Party (Syria)</span> Political party

Syriac Union Party in Syria is a secular Assyrian/Syriac political party in Syria that represents the interests of Assyrians in Syria and is committed to the Dawronoye modernization ideology. Established on 1 October 2005, since the start of the Syrian Civil War it has positioned itself on the side of secular, democratic, socialist and federalist Kurdish forces in Rojava, skeptical of both the Ba'athist Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria</span> De facto autonomous region in Syria

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa, Manbij, and Deir Ez-Zor. The region gained its de facto autonomy in 2012 in the context of the ongoing Rojava conflict and the wider Syrian civil war, in which its official military force, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has taken part.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutoro</span> Military unit

The Syriac Security Office, commonly known as the Sutoro or the Sutoro Police, is a Christian Assyrian/Syriac police force in Jazira Region of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria in Syria, where it works in concert with the general Asayish police force of the canton with the mission to police ethnic Assyrian areas and neighbourhoods. Its establishment is associated with the Syriac Union Party (SUP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jazira Region</span> One of seven de facto regions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria in Al Hasakah

The Jazira Region, formerly Jazira Canton,, is the largest of the three original regions of the de facto Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). As part of the ongoing Rojava conflict, its democratic autonomy was officially declared on 21 January 2014. The region is in the Al-Hasakah Governorate of Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afrin Region</span> One of seven de facto regions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria in Aleppo

Afrin Region is the westernmost of the three original regions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Protection Units</span> Ethnic Kurdish military unit

The Women's Protection Units or Women's Defense Units is an all-female militia involved in the Syrian civil war. The YPJ is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the armed forces of Rojava, and is closely affiliated with the male-led YPG. While the YPJ is mainly made up of Kurds, it also includes women from other ethnic groups in Northern Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symbols of North and East Syria</span> Symbols of NES

A number of different symbols have been used to represent the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), commonly known as Rojava. The Autonomous Administration adopted an official emblem in December 2018. The emblem consists of the words "Autonomous Administration" in Arabic, surrounded by seven red stars representing the regions of northeast Syria, as well as a branch of olives and spike of wheat, two crops grown in the region. Surrounding all of the symbols is the words "Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria" written in Arabic, Kurmanji, Syriac, and Turkish, the languages spoken in the region. The blue and yellow semicircles the whole emblem is put upon represents the Euphrates river and the "permanent spring" of the region. A flag with the Autonomous Administration's emblem on a white field is also used occasionally to represent the Administration itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AANES–Syria relations</span> Bilateral relations

AANES–Syria relations concern the military and political relations between the Ba'athist Syrian Arab Republic and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), a de facto autonomous multi-ethnic region in northern and eastern Syria. The Syrian government does not officially recognise the autonomy of the AANES, and advocates a centralist approach to the governance of Syria. The NES seeks the federalisation of Syria. For most of the Syrian civil war, there has been a non-aggression pact between the military of Syria and the Syrian Democratic Forces, with occasional confrontations and some cooperation against Islamist groups, in particular against the Turkish Armed Forces and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army. While the two sides co-operated militarily under Russian supervision since 2019, with Syrian and Russian troops stationed along the Turkish border to prevent further advances, political negotiations have ended in failure. The Syrian government has no authority or institutions in North and East Syria outside of its two security boxes in Qamishli/Qamislo and Al-Hasakah/Heseke. The Autonomous Administration does not allow the Syrian Government to hold elections in areas under its control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syrian Democratic Forces</span> Alliance in the Syrian Civil War

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is a Kurdish-led coalition formed by ethnic militias and rebel groups, and serves as the official military wing of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). The SDF is allied to and supplied by the United States–led CJTF–OIR international alliance. Founded in 10 October 2015, the SDF claims that its mission is fighting to create a secular, democratic and federalised Syria. The SDF is opposed by Turkey, who claims the group has direct links to the PKK, which it recognizes as a terrorist group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rojava conflict</span> Military and political conflict in northern Syria

The Rojava conflict, also known as the Rojava Revolution, is a political upheaval and military conflict taking place in northern Syria, known among Kurds as Western Kurdistan or Rojava.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in the AANES</span>

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria is a de facto autonomous region of Syria that emerged from 2012 onwards during the Syrian civil war and in particular the Rojava conflict. The current administration emphasises gender equality and pluralistic tolerance for religious and cultural diversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian militias in Iraq and Syria</span>

A number of Christian militias in Iraq and Syria have been formed since the start of the Syrian Civil War and in the 2013-2017 War. The militias are composed of fighters mainly from the Assyrian but also include Arab and Armenian Christian communities in Syria, and Assyrians in Iraq have formed militias in the north to protect Assyrian communities, towns and villages in the Assyrian homeland and Nineveh Plains. Some foreign Christian fighters from the Western world have also joined these militias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Qamishli (2016)</span> 2016 violent conflict in the city of Qamishli, Syria

The 2016 Battle of Qamishli was a violent urban battle between the Asayish police of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the pro-Syrian government National Defence Forces in the city of Qamishli, Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shahba Canton</span> Canton in Aleppo, Syria

The Shahba Canton is a political unit of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, in the Aleppo Governorate. The canton was established to administer the areas captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant west of the Euphrates, as part of the Afrin Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-Defense Forces (NES regions)</span> Military unit

Self-Defense Forces is a multi-ethnic territorial defense militia and the only conscripted armed force in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. As a self-defense force, manpower for the HXP is recruited locally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Rojava local elections</span> Elections in Syria

The first local elections in the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria were held on 22 September 2017. Representatives of 3,700 communes in the regions of the Northern Syria Federation were selected in the election, involving 12,421 candidates. The communal elections on 22 September were followed by elections of local councils in December and a federal parliamentary election of the People's Democratic Council, the region's highest governing body, in 2018. Some areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces were not included in the election, including the city of Manbij.

This is the order of battle for the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, codenamed "Operation Peace Spring" by Turkey. The pro-Turkish forces, including the Syrian National Army, are opposed by the armed forces of the NES, including the Syrian Democratic Forces.

References

  1. ↑ Kurdish: Hêza Ewlekariya Hindîrin; Arabic: قوى الامن الداخلي, romanized: Quwā al-ʾAmn ad-Dāḵilī.
  2. ↑ Kurdish: Asayîş; Arabic: الْأَسَايِش, romanized: al-ʾAsāyiš; Syriac: ܐܣܐܝܝܫ, Kurdish for Security.
  1. 1 2 3 ANF (4 July 2018). "Northern Syrian Internal Security Forces hold congress in Raqqa". ANF News. Ajansa Nûçeyan a Firatê. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fehim Taştekin (30 January 2017). "Does Syria really want to reconcile with Kurds?". Al-Monitor . Archived from the original on 11 November 2017.
  3. ↑ "12 thousand members were supervising the maintenance of security on Election Day". Hawar News Agency . 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "Kurds Build Bridges At Last". Inter Press Service. 13 October 2013. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Rojava Asayish: Security institution not above but within the society". ANF. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "Assyrians seek self-management in Hasaka over deal with PYD". Zaman al-Wasl. 13 April 2017. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  7. ↑ Wladimir van Wilgenburg (17 May 2017). "US-led coalition trains Raqqa Internal Forces to run post-ISIS city". ARA News . Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "Al-Shadadi women: Proud to join Women Asayîş Forces | ANHA". Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  9. ↑ "Kurds clash with Syrian government forces, blurring lines of friend and foe in civil war". Los Angeles Times. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  10. ↑ "Ending clashes in Syria's Qamishli under Russian auspices". 22 April 2021. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  11. ↑ "Anti-IS coalition trains policemen for Syria's Raqqa". Middle East Eye . 23 May 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  12. ↑ Barbarani, Sofia (20 April 2015). "Syrian Kurdish female leader Aitan Farhad about life as an Islam State target". Ekurd Daily. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "Syrian women liberated from Isis are joining the police to protect their city". The Independent. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "Rojava Dispatch Six: Innovations, the Formation of the Hêza Parastina Cewherî (HPC)". Modern Slavery. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  15. ↑ Rudaw (6 April 2015). "Rojava defense force draws thousands of recruits". Rudaw. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  16. 1 2 "A revolution in daily life". Peace in Kurdistan. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  17. ↑ Defense, Department of (March 2023). "Justification for FY 2024 COUNTER-ISLAMIC STATE OF IRAQ AND SYRIA (ISIS) TRAIN AND EQUIP FUND (CTEF)" (PDF). Comptroller.defense.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.