Kurdish Supreme Committee

{{Short description|Self-proclaimed governing body in Northern Syria (2012-2013)}}

{{Expand Turkish|topic=gov|Kürt Yüksek Komitesi|date=November 2020}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = Kurdish Supreme Committee

| native_name = Desteya Bilind a Kurd

| native_name_lang = ku

| image = Kurdish Supreme Committee emblem.svg

| caption = Emblem of the Kurdish Supreme Committee

| abbreviation = DBK (Kurdish)
KSC (English)

| coords =

| formation = {{start date and age|2012|06|11}}

| dissolved = 12 November 2013

| type =

| purpose = Self-governance of Syrian Kurdistan

| headquarters = Kobani

| founding_location = Erbil

| region_served = Northern Syria

| language = Kurdish

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The Kurdish Supreme Committee ({{langx|ku|Desteya Bilind a Kurd}}; DBK) was a self-proclaimed governing body in Northern Syria, which was founded by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdish National Council (KNC), following the signing on 12 July 2012 of a cooperation agreement between the two parties in Hewlêr, Iraqi Kurdistan{{cite web |title=The Kurdish National Council in Syria |publisher=Carnegie Middle East Center |url=http://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/48502 |date=2012 |access-date=31 August 2016}} under the auspice of the Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani.{{cite web |title=Member of National Council Says Committee Has Failed to Bridge Differences with PYD |publisher=Rûdaw |url=http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/16072013 |date=16 July 2013 |access-date=31 August 2016}} The member board consists of an equal number of PYD and KNC members.{{cite web|url=http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/7/syriakurd563.htm|title=Now Kurds are in charge of their fate: Syrian Kurdish official|publisher=Rudaw|date=29 July 2012|access-date=6 January 2014}}

The DBK sought to fill the power vacuum left behind by the retreating Syrian Army in mid-2012 during the Syrian Civil War.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29702440 |title=Who are the Kurds? |work=BBC News |date=21 October 2014 |access-date=8 December 2015}} It claimed self-governance based on Kurdish ethnicity of the population. The committee's armed wing consisted of the People's Protection Units (YPG) and Women's Protection Units (YPJ) and was complemented with the Asayish police force.{{cite web |title=SDF plays central role in Syrian civil war |url=https://www.janes.com/images/assets/333/57333/SDF_plays_central_role_in_Syrian_civil_war__1_.pdf |website=Janes Intelligence Review |access-date=18 October 2019}}

The PYD increased its influence and control within Kurdish populated regions of Northern Syria, and increasing marginalization of the Kurdish National Council led to the KNC abandoning the DBK on 12 November 2013, and the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), a coalition led by the PYD, declared a new administration. The new administration pursued a democratic confederalism model, moving towards a more decentralized and multi-ethnic structure.{{Cite news |date=2013-11-12 |title=Kurds declare an interim administration in Syria |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-kurds-idUSBRE9AB17E20131112 |access-date=2023-06-12}}{{cite web|last1=Sary|first1=Ghadi|title=Kurdish Self-governance in Syria: Survival and Ambition|url=https://syria.chathamhouse.org/assets/documents/2016-09-15-kurdish-self-governance-syria-sary.pdf|website=Chatham House|access-date=6 February 2017|page=11|date=September 2016}}