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Emboldened by Victory over Jihadis, Syrian Kurds Push toward Autonomy
(Christian Science Monitor) Alexander Christie-Miller - Emboldened by a string of victories over powerful al-Qaeda affiliates fighting in Syria, Kurds there have taken a major step toward autonomy. On Tuesday, Kurdish groups announced the formation of an interim autonomous government in Syria's Kurdish region, with elections to follow. The dominant Kurdish organization is the Democratic Union Party (PYD). Commanders in the PYD's armed wing are drawn heavily from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - a separatist group listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. and EU that has waged a three-decade insurgency against Turkey. Most of the PYD's victories have been in Kurdish-majority areas, or places where it has otherwise secured the allegiance of local populations.