Turkey’s PKK Conflict: A Visual Explainer

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Context: Turkey’s conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – continues in south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq. In northern Syria, Ankara and the PKK’s Syrian affiliate, the People’s Protection Forces (YPG), remain pitted against each other. On the home front, the government is pursuing crackdown on the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

Battleground: Between 20 December-20 January the Turkish military carried out operations targeting PKK militants in rural areas of Turkey’s south east (mainly Bitlis, Mardin and Diyarbakır) as well as in northern Iraq where the Turkish Ministry of Defence reported six air raids targeting PKK positions. Fatalities went down further this month likely reflecting a usual seasonal dip due to harsh winter conditions in mountainous areas where fighting takes place. Reportedly, Turkish military activity increased in northeast Syria, particularly near the town of Ain Issa. The security situation in northern Iraq, especially around Sinjar, remains volatile.

Analysis: Prospects for non-violent ways forward look bleak amid uncertainty in Syria, Iraq and the Turkish political leadership’s reliance on support from nationalists at home.