Rojava (Kurdish for "the West", referring to western Kurdistan) is a de facto autonomous region of northern Syria governed by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) of Salih Muslim Muhammad and Asya Abdullah. In November 2013, the state was formed as an autonomous region during the Syrian Civil War, with local Kurdish forces expelling rival Syrian Opposition forces from the area and having a love-hate relationship with the Free Syrian Army in an alliance against the Islamic State. However, the Rojava was also allied to the Syrian Arab Republic government, and its most important role in the conflict was its war on IS, helping both the rebels and government in fighting against the jihadists. In January 2014, an interim constitution was adopted, and by 2016 it had control over almost all of Hasakah Governorate and the Jazira Canton and Kobani Canton in northern Syria, in addition to a few more regions. Turkey was hostile to the Kurds as a part of their historical hatred of minorities, and the Turkish Air Force bombarded their positions in 2016; however, the United States and their NATO coalition considered the Kurdish forces allies in the anti-ISIL coalition.
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