Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

PKK–Turkish conflict (1978–present)

Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict

Overview of the Kurdish – Turkish conflict (2010)

Date

c. 27 November 1978 – present
(46 years, 3 weeks and 1 day)

Location

Eastern and Southeastern Turkey, spillovers in Northern Iraq and Northern Syria

Status

Ongoing:

Peace process attempt during 2012–15
Escalation since September 2014 due to Siege of Kobani
Renewed warfare since July 2015
Turkish claim: less than 160 PKK left in Turkey

Belligerents

Turkey

Ministry of National Defense
- General Staff
  - Special Forces Command
  - Turkish Armed Forces
    - Turkish Air Force
    - Turkish Land Forces
    - Turkish Naval Forces
      - Navy EOD
      - Navy SF
Turkish National Police
- Special Operations
Gendarmerie General Command
- JİTEM (until early 1990s)
- Village Guards
National Intelligence Organization

Other forces:

Counter-Guerrilla
Grey Wolves
Turkish Revenge Brigade
Some Kurdish tribes (until 1985; became Village Guards)

Supported by:

Syrian National Army (in Syria)
Other rebel factions (in Syria)

Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK)

PKK
- HPG
- YJA-STAR
- YDG-H:
  - YPS
  - YPS-Jin
PYD
- YPG
  - YPG International
- YPJ
- Anti-Terror Units
PJAK
- YRK
- HPJ
Sinjar Alliance
- Êzîdxan Women's Units
- Sinjar Resistance Units

HBDH

DKP
MKP-HKO-PHG
MLKP
THKP-C/MLSPB-DC
TKEP/L
DK (until 2017)

International Freedom Battalion

TAK

Support (incl. alleged by Turkey):

PUK

Syria (until October 1998; from 2012)

Soviet Union (until 1991)

Armenia

Cyprus

Greece

Russia

Iran

Iraq (until 2003)

Libya (until 2006)

Egypt (allegedly since 2016)

UAE (allegedly since 2017)

Sweden (alleged by Turkey)

Finland (alleged by Turkey)

Strength

Turkish Armed Forces: 639,551:
Gendarmerie: 148,700
Police: 225,000
Village Guards: 65,000

Total: 948,550
(not all directly involved in the conflict)

PKK: 4,000–32,800
PJAK: 1,000–3,000
TAK: A few dozen
Total: ≈5,000–32,800

Casualties and losses

Before 2015:
5,347 soldiers, 283 police officers and 1,466 village guards killed, 95 captured (24 currently held)
2015–present:
1,166 killed
Total: 8,266 killed and 21,128 wounded

Total: 43,019–47,074 killed and 22,703+ captured

Total killed: 55,000–60,000

Civilian casualties:
6,741 killed and 14,257 wounded by the PKK until 2015 (Turkish government claim)
2,400–4,000+ villages destroyed by the Turkish government

Turkish Hezbollah also known as Kurdish Hezbollah or just Hizbullah in Turkey, is a mainly Sunni Islamist militant organization, active against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Government of Turkey.

The Kurdish–Turkish conflict is an armed conflict between the Republic of Turkey and various Kurdish insurgent groups who have either demanded separation from Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan, or attempted to secure autonomy and greater political and cultural rights for Kurds inside the Republic of Turkey.

The main rebel group is the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) (Kurdish: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê). Although the Kurdish-Turkish conflict has spread to many regions, most of the conflict has taken place in Northern Kurdistan, which corresponds with southeastern Turkey. The PKK's presence in Iraqi Kurdistan has resulted in the Turkish Armed Forces carrying out frequent ground incursions and air and artillery strikes in the region, and its influence in Syrian Kurdistan has led to similar activity there. The conflict has cost the economy of Turkey an estimated $300 to 450 billion, mostly in military costs. It has also affected tourism in Turkey.

A revolutionary group, the PKK was founded in 1978 in the village of Fis, Lice by a group of Kurdish students led by Abdullah Öcalan. The initial reason given by the PKK for this was the oppression of Kurds in Turkey. At the time, the use of Kurdish language, dress, folklore, and names were banned in Kurdish-inhabited areas. In an attempt to deny their existence, the Turkish government categorized Kurds as "Mountain Turks" during the 1930s and 1940s. The words "Kurds", "Kurdistan", or "Kurdish" were officially banned by the Turkish government. Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life until 1991. Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.

The PKK was formed in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for Turkey's Kurdish minority. However, the full-scale insurgency did not begin until 15 August 1984, when the PKK announced a Kurdish uprising. Since the conflict began, more than 40,000 have died, the vast majority of whom were Kurdish civilians. Both sides were accused of numerous human rights abuses during the conflict.

In February 1999, PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya by a group of special forces personnel and taken to Turkey, where he remains in prison on an island in the Sea of Marmara. The first insurgency lasted until March 1993, when the PKK declared an unilateral ceasefire. Fighting resumed the same year. In 2013, the Turkish government started talks with Öcalan. Following mainly secret negotiations, a largely successful ceasefire was put in place by both the Turkish state and the PKK. On 21 March 2013, Öcalan announced the "end of armed struggle" and a ceasefire with peace talks.

On 25 July 2015, the conflict resumed when the Turkish Air Force bombed PKK positions in Iraq, in the midst of tensions arising from Turkish involvement in the Rojava–Islamist conflict in Syria. Substantial parts of many Kurdish-majority cities including Diyarbakır, Şırnak, Mardin, Cizre, Nusaybin, and Yüksekova were destroyed in the clashes.

Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present) facts for kids

See also