This dyad belongs to the conflict Turkey: Kurdistan
Summary of conflict Turkey: Kurdistan
In 1984, PKK instigated its armed struggle for an independent socialist Kurdish state. After more than a decade of conflict, PKK’s leader Abdullah Öcalan limited the groups goals to autonomy for the Kurdish minority in Turkey in 1999. The conflict was most violent during the 1990s when PKK also made use of large-scale one-sided violence. Government of Turkey has rejected negotiations with PKK, which it has labelled a terrorist organisation. Peace talks, however, were held between 2012-2015, but eventually broke down when the fragile ceasefire was abandoned following a suicide bomb by IS killing 33 – mainly Kurdish – civilians. Tensions had been building with PKK blaming the Government of Turkey for not preventing Islamic State IS attacks on Kurds in Turkey. The Turkey:Kurdistan quickly escalated to a level not seen since the 1990s and in 2016 it reached the intensity level of war. The following years the intensity level has fluctuated with a downward trend, though it hasn’t reached the intensity level of war. There have been frequent incidents in the form of governmental airstrikes targeting PKK in anti-terrorism operations in the Kurdish-dominated south eastern parts of Turkey and in northern Iraq. The large majority of the fatalities have been on the PKK side.
The year 2025 marked a turning point in Turkey's longest-running conflict, as the PKK moved to end its four-decade armed struggle against the Government of Turkey. The PKK declared a ceasefire on 1 March, announced at a congress in May that it would dissolve and end its armed struggle, held a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq in July at which a first group of fighters burned their weapons, and in October announced the withdrawal of its forces from Turkish territory. Reflecting this process, organized violence fell sharply. Estimated fatalities from the Turkey: Kurdistan conflict fell to their lowest level since the collapse of the previous peace process in 2015.
The formation of PKK and its instigation of armed struggle
On Abdullah Öcalan's initiative, PKK was founded in 1974 as a Marxist-Leninist group with the goal of establishing an independent and socialist Kurdish state. PKK is an acronym for Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan, which translates to the Kurdistan Workers Party. During his time as a student in Ankara, Abdullah Öcalan's involvement with leftist groups, such as the Devrimci Genc, provided him with an ideological framework within which Kurdish resentment against the Turkish and Kurdish ruling classes could be accommodated. Öcalan gathered a following of like-minded individuals, and after PKK was founded, they returned to the Kurdish areas where they had grown up and started recruiting new followers. Under the leadership of Öcalan, PKK initially turned against other Kurdish groups and Kurdish landlords to consolidate its position amongst the Kurds. By getting involved in local politics and blood feuds, PKK managed to gain allies and to play one enemy off against another. In August 1984, PKK forces began ambushing Turkish troops on Kurdish-dominated areas, marking the beginning of the over two-decade-long conflict between PKK and Turkey.
PKK changes its goals and its name
Unlike many other Kurdish organizations, such as KDPI (Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran) in Iran and KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) and PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) in Iraq, PKK initially demanded an independent Kurdish state instead of Kurdish autonomy. After PKK's leader Abdullah Öcalan was arrested and tried before a Turkish court in 1999, he backed away from PKK's earlier positions. He gave up the idea of a Kurdish state because he no longer found it necessary, and because it would be too difficult to realize and maintain. Although parts of PKK did not approve of Öcalan's revised goals, his position as the leader of the group was still strong enough to make PKK's Presidential Council drop the word "Kurdistan" from the names of PKK's military and political wings (ARGK and ERNK) in February 2000 as a symbol of the abandonment of the goal of an independent state. PKK retained its sizeable "Public Defence Force" (the new name of the military wing formerly known as ARGK).
Corresponding to its changing strategies and goals, the group changed its name several times before it reverted to its original name PKK in 2005. At its 8th Congress in April 2002, PKK announced that it had fulfilled its historical mission and that it was now dissolved. At the same time, KADEK (Kongreya Azadi u Demokrasiya Kurdistan; Congress for Freedom and Democracy in Kurdistan) announced its establishment. It was to continue PKK's struggle for the liberation of the Kurds but, it claimed, through dialogue and democracy rather than violence. The organization was, however, considered too narrow and hierarchic and was dissolved after the summer of 2003. The foundation of a new Kurdish group intended to attract broader support, KONGRA-GEL (Kongra Gele Kurdistan; Peoples Congress of Kurdistan) was announced on November 15 2003. After PKK had reverted to its original name in 2005, Öcalan declared that PKK would be part of a new political entity, the KKK (Koma Komalên Kurdistan; Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan) headed by himself. The proclaimed purpose of the KKK was not to change the existing borders of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, the states housing large Kurdish minorities, but to achieve self-governance in the areas inhabited by the Kurds. KKK later was renamed KCK (Koma Civakên Kurdistan; Democratic Communities of Kurdistan).
Foreign involvement in the conflict
Several states have supported PKK. Syria, Greece and Iran at times provided PKK with sanctuary, training grounds and/or financial support in the 1990s. Other states suspected of aiding PKK were Cyprus and Armenia. Northern Iraq has also been a safe-haven for PKK rebels especially since 1991. Moreover, PKK allegedly had links to other leftist groups in Turkey and abroad, such as Devrimci Sol and the Greek November 17 Revolutionary Organisation. Another Kurdish group, PJAK (Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistanê, Free Life Party of Kurdistan), operating in Iran, claimed to be loyal to PKK's leader Öcalan. Also the Iraq Kurdish group PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) was a PKK ally in the late 1980s. Moreover, PKK has raised money and has acquired weapons through committed supporters active in the Kurdish diaspora, which is scattered over a diverse geographical area, forming a network of potential PKK supporters from northwest Europe to Armenia and Iran.
In turn, the Turkish government has received important support from the United States, after the US had toppled the Saddam Hussein-regime of Iraq in 2003. The US forces have shared intelligence about PKK positions in Northern Iraq and have supported Turkey with military equipment.
Conflict dynamics 1984 - 2015
The conflict developed from a low-level urban guerrilla campaign in southeastern Turkey to a full-fledged war in 1992. After several years of war, there was a decline in the number of battle-related deaths from 1998 to 2002, and the conflict continued with less than 100 battle-related deaths per year in 2003. The high rates of fatalities during the mid-1990s and the capture of PKK leader Öcalan in 1999 seemed to have taken its toll on PKK activities.
However, clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants became more frequent since the group (then under the name Kongra-Gel) officially renewed its struggle in June 2004. 2005 saw a sharp increase in the number of clashes putting the death toll at over 400 battle-related deaths. PKK forces increasingly found refuge in the Kurdish controlled parts of northern Iraq, and conducted operations from these bases. PKK also started imitating the road-sided explosive techniques of Iraqi insurgents. After a decline to around 200 battle-related deaths in 2006, the level of 2005 was again reached and exceeded in 2007 and 2008. In 2009 and 2010, the violence level dropped, only to escalate again in 2011 and 2012.
The bulk of the fighting occurring after 2007 took place in PKK stronghold areas of southeastern Turkey as well as in Northern Iraq. In late 2007, the Turkish government stepped up its military action against PKK. Cross-border air-strikes, as well as ground incursions into northern Iraq, were frequent also during the following years.
On several occasions, PKK declared unilateral ceasefires (for example, in August 2005, September-October 2006, June 2007, September 2008, December 2008, April 2009 and August 2010). PKK claimed that these ceasefires - often in connection to Muslim festivities - reflected its desire to find a peaceful solution to the conflict and called for negotiations. However, continued clashes between government forces and PKK indicated that the ceasefires often were not recognized or adhered to by either side or were only of limited duration. For example, despite the August 2010 unilateral ceasefire, some minor fighting occurred during the fall of 2010. The situation was entirely calm in early 2011, yet the PKK ended the ceasefire in early March, and fighting resumed, leading to the first fatalities in mid-March 2011.
During the period, no negotiations took place between the Government of Turkey and PKK. However, some concessions were made by the government, mainly in the form of a set of reforms allowing more cultural and political rights to the Kurdish minority. These reforms triggered substantial debate inside Turkey, leading to the Constitutional Courts banning of a major Kurdish party (DTP) in late 2009.
This rekindled the conflict as the intensity of fighting in 2010 was significantly higher than in 2009. However, after the 2010 constitutional referendum, and in the wake of the 2011 Turkish general elections, the Government of Turkey did express, at least through informal channels, some willingness to engage with PKK and it acknowledged PKK's ceasefire in November 2010. As seen above, this ceasefire ended in spring 2011, and violence accompanied the campaign for the Turkish general elections in June 2011, including an attack on a campaign rally of Prime Minister Erdogan in early May. Reacting to bannings of Kurdish candidates, PKK intensified the violence in June and July, prompting Turkey to react. In late summer and during the fall, Turkey launched two intense military campaigns, including bombardments of PKK positions in northern Iraq.
The violence continued to escalate in 2012, particularly during the second half of the year, but at the same time, there were reports of new rounds of talks between the Turkish government and the imprisoned PKK leader Öcalan in December. The main focus of the talks was stated to be the question of PKK's disarmament.
The conflict de-escalated dramatically in 2013 after talks between the Government and PKK leader Öcalan were initiated late 2012. There were isolated clashes in southeastern Turkey during the first two months of the year. However, there was no fatal violence between the warring parties after a ceasefire was announced by Öcalan on March 21. Talks continued throughout the year, and in May 2013, PKK began a withdrawal into northern Iraq of all forces on Turkish soil.
Increased tension following the broken down peace negotiations in 2015
The fragile ceasefire between the Government of Turkey and PKK, which had been in place since March 2013, was abandoned in late July 2015, effectively ending the peace process. Tensions had been building with the PKK blaming the government for not preventing Islamic State (IS) attacks on Kurds in Turkey. Immediately after an IS suicide bomb in Suruc on July 20, which killed 33 – mainly Kurdish – civilians, the conflict quickly escalated to a level not seen since the 1990s. There were daily attacks by PKK on security forces as well as large army and police operations in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern parts of Turkey. The government also regularly conducted air raids on PKK bases in the Qandil mountains in northern Iraq. PKK blamed the Government of Turkey for not preventing Islamic State IS attacks on Kurds in Turkey. In 2016 Turkey:Kurdistan conflict reached the intensity level of war. The following years there were were frequent incidents in the form of governmental airstrikes targeting PKK in anti-terrorism operations in the Kurdish-dominated south eastern parts of Turkey and in northern Iraq and the intensity level has fluctuated, but the Turkey:Kurdistan hasn't reached the intensity level of war. In 2022, the number of fatalities in the conflict Turkey:Kurdistan continued the increasing trend from the year before, albeit not reaching the intensity level of war. The majority of the fatalities were PKK soldiers targeted with airstrikes in northern Iraq during the military operation initiated by the Turkish Armed Forces on April 18 under the name ‘Operation Claw-Lock’.
