Latest news with #SoutheastTurkey
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Kurdish militant group PKK to disband after four-decade insurgency against Turkey
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced on Monday that it will disband and disarm following its more than four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state that has resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 people at the hands of PKK militants and Turkey's military. The PKK has sought to create an independent Kurdish state on Turkish soil, where the Kurds make up some 20% of Turkey's 86 million population. The U.S., the European Union and Turkey have classified the PKK as a terrorist organization. In its statement, the PKK said, according to a Reuters report, it "has completed its historic mission," which over the years shifted to seeking greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy in southeast Turkey, rather than an independent state. "The PKK struggle has broken the policy of denial and annihilation of our people and brought the Kurdish issue to a point of solving it through democratic politics," it said on the Firat news website, which showed images of senior PKK members attending the congress in fighter fatigues. Turkey will take necessary measures to ensure smooth progress toward a "terror-free" country after the PKK decision, said Turkey's presidential communications director, Fahrettin Altun. The dissolution of the PKK raises a host of questions for the Islamist government of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the pro-American Kurdish forces (YPG) in northern Syrian who helped defeat the Islamist State terrorist movement. Turkey considers the YPG an affiliate of the PKK and has repeatedly launched military strikes against Syrian Kurds. The jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been held on an island south of Istanbul since 1999, urged in February that the PKK disband. Separately, Mazloum Abdi, the pro-American commander in chief of Syrian Kurdish fighters, called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which ousted the Islamic State, said Ocalan's call did not apply to his organization. The YPG is part of the larger umbrella organization, the SDF, and is not associated with the PKK. The U.S. and the EU are allied with the SDF and the YPG in the fight against Islamist terrorism in Syria and, in contrast to Turkey, do not see an affiliation between the SDF, YPG and the PKK. Fox News Digital has reported over the years on Turkey's efforts to wipe out pro-U.S. Syrian Kurdish forces (SDF and YPG) who played a key role in the dismantlement of the Islamic State. In December, after former Syrian dictator Bashar Assad fled to Russia and his regime collapsed, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., declared repeatedly in an address to Erdoğan in Congress, "Leave the Kurds alone." He added, "The Kurds are America's friends… The people most responsible for helping us, most responsible for destroying ISIS, were the Kurds." The Kurds are among the largest stateless ethnic groups in the world, with some 30 million concentrated in an area straddling Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. A minority in all four countries, the Kurds speak their own language, with several dialects. Most are Sunni Muslims.
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Separatist Kurdish group PKK to disband
The separatist Kurdish group, the PKK , has agreed to lay down arms to end a 40-year war for autonomy against Turkey , a historic step that could strengthen the Nato member's aspirations to become a regional powerhouse. The PKK decided to disarm and disband at a congress last week, the pro-Kurdish ANF news agency reported on Monday, after declaring a ceasefire on March 1st. The group has been affiliated with US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces and the decision could ease tensions between Ankara and Washington over the future of Kurds and power sharing in Turkey's southeastern neighbour. 'The congress has assessed that PKK struggle has destroyed the policy of rejection and destruction against our people and has led the Kurdish issue to the point of solution via democratic politics, and that in this respect, the PKK has completed its historical mission,' ANF cited a statement from the congress as saying. READ MORE It is unclear whether Turkey will offer safe passage for the group's leadership to third countries or declare amnesty for thousands of militants if they return home. The PKK said its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, should lead the political process, according to the statement. 'At this stage, it's important for parliament to play its role with a historic responsibility.' The conflict with the PKK has exacted a heavy toll on Turkey, with an estimated 40,000 people – most of them Kurds – killed since the insurgency began in 1984, including both militants and civilians. During the height of the fighting in the 1990s, Turkish military campaigns in the southeast emptied entire villages, displacing hundreds of thousands and fuelling chronic regional instability. Urban centres such as Istanbul and Ankara were repeatedly targeted in PKK-linked bombings, eroding public confidence and contributing to security concerns that weighed on tourism, investment and domestic political cohesion. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made resolving the Kurdish conflict a central aim as he seeks to thwart what he sees as the growing threat of Kurdish nationalism in the region. If successful, it would boost Turkey's aspirations to reshape the Middle East and burnish support for Mr Erdogan as he seeks to rewrite the constitution and extend his two-decade long rule. Turkey is now facing the question of how to address demands from the PKK and the pro-Kurdish DEM party to improve rights for the ethnic group. They are calling for recognition of Kurdish identity and culture in the country's constitution and permission for Kurdish language teaching in schools, alongside the devolution of more powers to local authorities in Turkey's Kurdish majority southeast. Kurds make up almost a fifth of Turkey's 90 million population. The bloody conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the PKK took up arms for autonomy in 1984. – Bloomberg
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Factbox-Key facts on Kurdish PKK that has ended its insurgency in Turkey
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which has formally dissolved itself according to a report by a news agency close to the group on Monday, has battled the Turkish state for more than four decades. In February, Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK's founder who is jailed in Turkey, appealed for it to disarm and dissolve. The decision opens the door to ending a conflict that has ravaged southeastern Turkey, and will also have significant implications for Syria and Iraq. Here are details about the PKK: WHAT IS THE PKK? The PKK is a militant group founded by Ocalan in southeast Turkey in 1978 with an ideology based on Marxist-Leninist ideas. WHAT DOES THE GROUP WANT? The PKK launched its insurgency against Turkey in 1984 with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state. It later moderated its goals to seeking greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy in southeast Turkey. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, most of them militants. Much of the fighting was focused in rural areas of mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey, but the group also conducted attacks in urban areas including Ankara and Istanbul. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara, the United States, the European Union and some other countries. WHAT IS THE GROUP'S HISTORY? The PKK operated in Syria until 1998 when Ocalan had to flee amid growing Turkish pressure. He was captured by Turkish special forces several months later in Kenya and sentenced to death by a Turkish court in 1999. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in October 2002 after Turkey abolished the death penalty and he is still imprisoned on an island near Istanbul. Fighting dwindled after Ocalan's capture, which led to the withdrawal of rebel fighters from Turkey. After a flare-up in violence, Turkey and the PKK became involved in peace talks from late 2012. That process collapsed in July 2015, unleashing the bloodiest period of the conflict and resulting in extensive destruction in some urban areas of southeast Turkey. In October of 2024, Devlet Bahceli, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader and President Tayyip Erdogan's political ally, shocked Ankara when he suggested Ocalan could be released if he announced an end to his group's insurgency. Erdogan's ruling AKP backed the proposal and leaders of the opposition pro-Kurdish DEM party, which seeks greater Kurdish rights and autonomy, has held talks with Ocalan at his prison. The PKK, declared an immediate ceasefire following the call and said it was ready to convene a congress, as Ocalan urged, but the necessary security conditions should be established for him to "personally direct and run" it. WHERE HAS THE CONFLICT BEEN FOCUSED MORE RECENTLY? In recent years the conflict shifted to neighbouring northern Iraq where the PKK has mountain bases and Turkey has dozens of outposts. Ankara has launched operations against the militants there, including air strikes with warplanes and combat drones, which Baghdad has said violates its sovereignty. Yet Iraq and Turkey had agreed to boost anti-PKK cooperation, and Baghdad labelled it a banned organisation for the first time. Turkey also targets the YPG militia in Syria, regarding it as a PKK affiliate, and has conducted cross-border operations alongside allied Syrian forces to push it back from its border. However the YPG spearheads the SDF, the primary ally of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. Washington's support for the SDF has been a source of U.S.-Turkey tension for years. The ouster in December of former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad - whom Ankara long opposed, backing Syrian rebels - bolstered Turkey's position and influence there. It called for the YPG to be disbanded and its leaders expelled from Syria, and threatened a Turkish military operation to "crush" the group if its demands were not met. Turkish, U.S., Syrian and Kurdish officials have sought an agreement on the future of the Syrian Kurdish fighters.
South China Morning Post
12-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
PKK Kurdish militant group ends 40-year war against Turkey
A separatist Kurdish group agreed to lay down arms to end a 40-year war for autonomy against Turkey, a historic step that could strengthen the Nato member's aspirations to become a regional powerhouse. Advertisement The PKK decided to disarm and disband at a congress last week, the pro-Kurdish ANF news agency reported Monday, after declaring a ceasefire on March 1. The group has been affiliated with US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces and the decision could ease tensions between Ankara and Washington over the future of Kurds and power-sharing in Turkey's southeastern neighbour. 'The congress has assessed that PKK struggle has destroyed the policy of rejection and destruction against our people and has led the Kurdish issue to the point of solution via democratic politics, and that in this respect, the PKK has completed its historical mission,' ANF cited a statement from the congress as saying. A demonstrator holds a picture of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a rally in Diyarbakir, Turkey, in February. File photo: Reuters It was unclear whether Turkey would offer safe passage for the group's leadership to third countries or declare amnesty for thousands of militants if they return home. The PKK said its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, should lead the political process, according to the statement. Advertisement
Reuters
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
What is the PKK militant group that ended insurgency with Turkey?
ISTANBUL, May 12 (Reuters) - The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which has formally dissolved itself according to a report by a news agency close to the group on Monday, has battled the Turkish state for more than four decades. In February, Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK's founder who is jailed in Turkey, appealed for it to disarm and dissolve. The decision opens the door to ending a conflict that has ravaged southeastern Turkey, and will also have significant implications for Syria and Iraq. Here are details about the PKK: The PKK is a militant group founded by Ocalan in southeast Turkey in 1978 with an ideology based on Marxist-Leninist ideas. The PKK launched its insurgency against Turkey in 1984 with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state. It later moderated its goals to seeking greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy in southeast Turkey. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, most of them militants. Much of the fighting was focused in rural areas of mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey, but the group also conducted attacks in urban areas including Ankara and Istanbul. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara, the United States, the European Union and some other countries. The PKK operated in Syria until 1998 when Ocalan had to flee amid growing Turkish pressure. He was captured by Turkish special forces several months later in Kenya and sentenced to death by a Turkish court in 1999. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in October 2002 after Turkey abolished the death penalty and he is still imprisoned on an island near Istanbul. Fighting dwindled after Ocalan's capture, which led to the withdrawal of rebel fighters from Turkey. After a flare-up in violence, Turkey and the PKK became involved in peace talks from late 2012. That process collapsed in July 2015, unleashing the bloodiest period of the conflict and resulting in extensive destruction in some urban areas of southeast Turkey. In October of 2024, Devlet Bahceli, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader and President Tayyip Erdogan's political ally, shocked Ankara when he suggested Ocalan could be released if he announced an end to his group's insurgency. Erdogan's ruling AKP backed the proposal and leaders of the opposition pro-Kurdish DEM party, which seeks greater Kurdish rights and autonomy, has held talks with Ocalan at his prison. The PKK, declared an immediate ceasefire following the call and said it was ready to convene a congress, as Ocalan urged, but the necessary security conditions should be established for him to "personally direct and run" it. In recent years the conflict shifted to neighbouring northern Iraq where the PKK has mountain bases and Turkey has dozens of outposts. Ankara has launched operations against the militants there, including air strikes with warplanes and combat drones, which Baghdad has said violates its sovereignty. Yet Iraq and Turkey had agreed to boost anti-PKK cooperation, and Baghdad labelled it a banned organisation for the first time. Turkey also targets the YPG militia in Syria, regarding it as a PKK affiliate, and has conducted cross-border operations alongside allied Syrian forces to push it back from its border. However the YPG spearheads the SDF, the primary ally of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. Washington's support for the SDF has been a source of U.S.-Turkey tension for years. The ouster in December of former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad - whom Ankara long opposed, backing Syrian rebels - bolstered Turkey's position and influence there. It called for the YPG to be disbanded and its leaders expelled from Syria, and threatened a Turkish military operation to "crush" the group if its demands were not met. Turkish, U.S., Syrian and Kurdish officials have sought an agreement on the future of the Syrian Kurdish fighters.
