The Northern Democratic Brigade () is a Free Syrian Army unit that is closely allied to the Syrian Kurdish YPG and YPJ in Afrin Region since 2014. Led by Absi Taha, Alexander Khalil, and Alexander Alaa, it also joined the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in November 2015. The initial members of the group originated from Jabal Zawiya in Idlib, and it has recruited Arabs from Idlib, Aleppo, and other cities in northern Syria since allying with the YPG. Since joining the SDF, the unit has begun to operate across much of northern and eastern Syria, participating in operations against anti-SDF Syrian opposition factions, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Turkish Armed Forces, and the Syrian National Army. Etymology The unit is generally called "Northern Democratic Brigade", although its Arabic name is more correctly translated as "Brigade of the Democratic North". It is also called "Forces of the Democratic North" (Quwat al-Shamal al-Dimoqrati). It is known as "Northern Democratic Brigade" since 2015. Before this date, the militia was called "al-Qa'qa' Brigade"(). History Formation and alliance with the YPG The unit was formed in Idlib Governorate around 2013 and was originally operating as the Free Syrian Army's al-Qa'qa' Brigade, part of the Free Zawiya Brigade based in the Jabal Zawiya region of Idlib. In the course of 2014, it first joined the Free Syria Brigade, and then switched to the Syrian Revolutionaries Front (SRF). When the SRF moved closer to radical Islamist groups, it expelled the al-Qa'qa' Brigade, whereupon the militia became part of the Syrian Salvation Front in May 2014. At the time, the unit repeatedly clashed with jihadist factions in Aleppo and Idlib. When the al-Nusra Front–SRF/Hazzm Movement conflict broke out, the al-Qa'qa' Brigade, then as part of the Syrian Salvation Front's Free Zawiya Union, was pushed out of the region by the al-Nusra Front, Jund al-Aqsa, and Ahrar al-Sham by November 2014, and withdrew north to the YPG-held Afrin Canton. According to the unit's spokesman, the Northern Democratic Brigade was officially organized by Absi Taha ("Abu Omar al-Idlibi") in early 2015. Its initial members were survivors of the Syrian Salvation Front. However, it continued to be called "al-Qa'qa' Brigade" during the following months. In November 2015, the al-Qa'qa' Brigade was one of several FSA groups from the Idlib and Aleppo Governorates that officially joined the newly founded Syrian Democratic Forces, and also became part of the