Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency
An armed conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has sought Kurdish self-rule and fought the Turkish state since 1984.
Kurdistan Workers' Party: A Kurdish militant and political organization founded in 1978 that launched an armed insurgency against Turkey in 1984. The PKK is the insurgency’s principal armed actor and has changed its goals and methods over time.
Kurdish–Turkish conflict: A long-running political and social conflict over Kurdish identity, rights, and authority within Turkey. The insurgency grew out of disputes that predated the PKK’s armed campaign.
Cemil Bayık: A founding PKK leader who became a senior figure in the organization’s leadership. Bayık has represented the PKK leadership during later phases of the conflict.
Kurdish–Turkish displacement: The forced and wartime movement of Kurdish civilians, particularly from rural southeastern Turkey during the conflict. Counterinsurgency and clashes displaced large numbers of people from their homes.
Syrian civil war: A multi-sided conflict that began in Syria in 2011 after protests against the government escalated into war. The war is distinct, though it drew in Kurdish forces and affected Turkey’s security calculations.
Turkish Armed Forces: The military forces of the Republic of Turkey, responsible for national defense and major operations against the PKK. Turkish forces have fought the PKK inside Turkey and across the Iraqi border.
Kurdish nationalism: A political movement advocating recognition, rights, or self-determination for Kurdish people. Kurdish nationalist demands shaped the PKK’s original call for an independent Kurdistan.
Murat Karayılan: A senior PKK commander who led the organization’s military wing for many years. Karayılan became a prominent operational leader after Öcalan’s imprisonment.
Human rights in Turkey: The protection and enforcement of civil, political, and social rights in the Republic of Turkey. The conflict has brought allegations and documented cases of abuses by state forces and the PKK.
Kurdistan Workers' Party–Turkey conflict in Syria: Clashes between Turkey and PKK-linked Kurdish forces in Syria, especially involving the YPG and Turkish military operations. These Syrian confrontations are connected to the insurgency but occur in a separate theater.