Women's Defense Units (YPJ) affiliated to People’s Defense Units (YPG) in western Kurdistan have formed another brigade named “Gulê Selmo”.

The formation of the new female brigade was announced with a military ceremony in the city of Afrin on Tuesday.

Speaking at the ceremony, YPJ Commander Jinda Efrini said that they have formed the new brigade in response to the armed groups that have massacred women and committed savage crimes against them under the guise of Islam in the villages of Til Aran and Til Hasıl in Aleppo region.

The Kurdish People Protection Units were set up last July, when the Kurdistan West Democratic Movement (TEV-DEM) –the umbrella body of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the main party among the Syrian Kurds, and other organizations close to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)–, took control of some areas of northern Syria as well as Aleppo´s predominantly Kurdish districts of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh.

Although most of the Kurdish militia is made up women and men of Kurdish origin, it´s not infrequent to find fighters of different ethnicities and religions among their ranks. In Qamishlo –680 kilometers northeast of Damascus– there is a significant number of Christian combatants within the YPG and the enlistment of young Arabs men in Aleppo has also increased since last year.

There are also cases of young Arabs from other parts of the city that have decided to join the Kurdish militia because they are disappointed with FSA´s attitude.