Syrian Democratic Forces military councils
The Syrian Democratic Forces has many military councils for local security and defense, each being accountable to the civil council of the area they operate in.
In 2016, the Syrian Democratic Forces established four military councils in order to facilitate and conduct military operations; the Manbij Military Council, the al-Bab Military Council, the Jarabulus Military Council, and the Deir ez-Zor Military Council.
In 2017, the Idlib Military Council was founded in an attempt to gain influence in Idlib Governorate, much of which is controlled by Turkish-backed opposition groups.
In 2019, the SDF started to form new military councils in order to both decentralize the SDF, and to unify the military and security forces in the region. As of June 2019, the military councils formed during this decentralization are the Kobanî Military Council, the Tal Abyad Military Council, the Tabqa Military Council, the al-Hawl Military Council, the Qamishli Military Council, the Raqqa Military Council, the Serê Kaniyê Military Council, the Derik Military Council, the Hasakah Military Council, and the Amuda Military Council.
Manbij
The Manbij Military Council is a coalition established by several groups in the SDF, the Northern Sun Battalion and the Seljuk Brigade, on 2 April 2016 at the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates. The military council aimed to capture the city of Manbij across the river and many of the council members are local fighters from the surrounding areas.Al-Bab
The Al-Bab Military Council is an ethnically mixed force of the Syrian Democratic Forces, consisting of Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen militias from northern Aleppo Governorate. The BMC currently maintains a presence in several villages west of Manbij, though its stated goal is to capture al-Bab, currently under the Turkish occupation of northern Syria.Jarabulus
The Jarabulus Military Council is an SDF coalition in the Shahba Region formed by local fighters from the city of Jarabulus and the surrounding areas, who had fled from ISIL.Abdel Sattar al-Jader, the initial leader of the Jarabulus Military Council and the commander of the Euphrates Jarabulus Brigades, was assassinated just prior to the Turkish military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, and the SDF have accused Turkish military intelligence of organizing the assassination.
The Jarabulus Military Council took part in the resistance against the Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, attacking Turkish-backed forces in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo.
Deir ez-Zor
The Deir ez-Zor Military Council is an Arab-majority militia of the Syrian Democratic Forces, based in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. It joined the SDF in 2016, having previously been part of the Free Syrian Army.Smaller military councils in the Deir ez-Zor region include: Al-Kasra Military Council, Al-Suar Military Council, Hajin Military Council, and Al-Busayrah Military Council.
Idlib
The Idlib Military Council was proposed, and partially organized by the SDF in an attempt to gain influence in Idlib Governorate and counter Turkey and the Syrian Army in the region. It was reportedly established in late 2017, with an official formation video filmed in Idlib being released on 21 October 2017 claiming that the council seeks to revive the Syrian revolution and expand it into combating terrorism and foreign occupation. In the video the council also declared its willingness to fight Jabhat al-Nusra and rid Idlib from their presence, the speaker in the video also described the council's opposition to the Syrian government and Bashar al-Assad and their support for the Syrian rebellion, though the council mostly disappeared thereafter. In March 2018, however, the Idlib Military Council and other SDF units condemned the Turkish-led Operation Olive Branch against Afrin Canton and declared to help the YPG in defending the canton.The council is also openly linked with the Syrian Democratic Forces' component the Northern Democratic Brigade with the group's leader Abu Ammar al-Idlibi stating his group's ambitions to expand operations into the Idlib Governorate and eventually control it and expel Turkish forces as well as rival groups active in the area.