Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM)

A coalition of four parties (three Kurdish and one Assyrian). It was formed in 2014 and exercises power in north-eastern Syria. Its core is the Democratic Union Party (PYD), whose armed arm is the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the militias belonging to the Women's Protection Units (FPI). PYD is linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting the Turkish government since 1984.