Establishment The
Kurdish Democratic Political Union was established on 15 December 2012, when approx. 1500 people joined a founding ceremony in the Syrian Kurdish town of Qamishli. It consisted of four parties: • the
Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (KDP-S), • the two branches of the
Kurdish Freedom Party in Syria ('''', or Azadî, led by Mustafa Khidr Oso and Mustafa Juma), • and the
Kurdish Union Party of Syria ('''', or PYKS).
Clashes with the PYD The militia it formed clashed with the
Popular Protection Units (YPG), a militia controlled by the
Democratic Union Party (PYD), in April 2013. The alliance currently claims to have 1,500 fighters in Syria, with the
Kurdistan Regional Government training troops in Iraq that will eventually controlled by the alliance. On 1 March 2014, the PYD-linked
Asayish did not allow members of the alliance to cross into Iraq to conduct a meeting in
Erbil.
Dissolution From its very beginning, the alliance was weakened by internal power struggles. While ostensibly formed with the intent of an equitable merger between the parties, the stronger KDP-S was accused of using its political clout and support from the Iraqi
Kurdistan Regional Government trying to subsume all other parties. Only KDP-S members were allowed to become part of the small militia, raising allegations that the KDP-S is behaving in a similar way to how the PYD monopolizes control on the YPG. As a result, the Yekîtî party abandoned the alliance in 2013. ==References==