Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity
Anarchist military unit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
The Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity (Greek: Επαναστατικός Σύνδεσμος Διεθνιστικής Αλληλεγγύης, abbreviated as ΕΣΔΑ or RUIS) is a Greek anarchist military unit involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was founded in 2015 and joined the International Freedom Battalion (IFB).
![]() | It has been suggested that this article be merged into International Freedom Battalion. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2025. |
Remove ads
Establishment

Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, in 2012, the autonomous region of Rojava was established in northern Syria, where the Kurdish-led People's Protection Units (YPG) fought against the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic State.[3] Many Greek anarchists volunteered to fight for the YPG, seeking to gain experience in guerrilla warfare and apply their tactics back in Greece.[4] In 2015, Greek anarchists and anarcho-communists established the Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity (RUIS), as a specifically anarchist military unit.[5]
It joined the International Freedom Battalion (IFB), an organisation of left-wing foreign volunteers established in June 2015, which fights alongside the YPG.[6] The RUIS was a later addition to the IFB, which was initially predominated by Turkish Marxist-Leninist organisations.[7] In May 2017, the RUIS made a statement declaring it would spill blood "from Rojava to Athens",[8] which caught the attention of the Greek authorities.[3]
Remove ads
Death of Haukur Hilmarsson
In early 2018, one of its fighters, the Icelandic anarchist Haukur Hilmarsson, was killed by the Turkish Armed Forces during the Turkish invasion of Afrin.[9] In its announcement of his death, the RUIS declared that he had "become immortal" and that his example had inspired them to continue their "resistance against fascism and tyranny".[10] In response, the RUIS called for attacks against assets of the Turkish state in Greece. The following year, far-left groups affiliated with the RUIS attacked the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki and set fire to a Turkish diplomatic vehicle.[11]
Remove ads
See also
References
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads