The Turkish-Kurdish conflict is an armed confrontation in which the Turkish government takes part on the one hand, and on the other, the Workers' Party of the Kurdistan Party. The latter is fighting to create an independent region within the borders of Turkey. Armed conflict has been developing since 1984. So far, it has not been resolved. In this article we will talk about the causes of the confrontation, the commanders and the general losses of the parties.
Background
The situation that led to the Turkish-Kurdish conflict arose due to the fact that the Kurds at the beginning of the XXI century remain the largest in number of people who do not have their own statehood.
It was assumed that the issue could be resolved after the signing of the Sevres Peace Treaty, which was concluded between the countries of the Entente and Turkey in 1920. In particular, it provided for the creation of an independent Kurdistan. But the contract never entered into legal force.
In 1923, it was canceled after the conclusion of the Lausanne Treaty. It was adopted following the results of the Lausanne Conference, legally consolidating the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, establishing the modern borders of Turkey.
During the 1920-1930s, the Kurds made several attempts to rebel against the Turkish authorities. They all ended in failure. Perhaps the most famous went down in history as the Dersim Massacre. The Turkish armed forces brutally suppressed the uprising that broke out in 1937, and then proceeded to mass pogroms and purges among the local population. Many experts today evaluate their actions as genocide. According to various sources, from 13.5 to 70 thousand civilians were killed.
In 2011, Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan officially apologized for the Dersim Massacre, calling it one of the most tragic events in Turkish history. At the same time, he tried to blame the incident on the Armenians, who at that time lived in Dersim. This statement provoked outrage in different parts of the country, especially in Dersim itself.
Kurdish uprising in Iraq
Another large-scale event that preceded the Turkish-Kurdish conflict was the Kurdish uprising in Iraq, which took place in 1961. With interruptions, it lasted until 1975.
In fact, it was a separatist war that the Iraqi Kurds waged under the leadership of their leader of the national liberation movement, Mustafa Barzani. This rebellion became possible after the fall of the monarchy in Iraq in 1958.
The Kurds supported the government of Abdel Qasem, but he did not live up to their hopes. He decides to rely on Arab nationalists, so he begins to organize open persecution of the Kurds.
The Kurds consider the beginning of the September 11 uprising, when the bombing of their territory began. A 25, 000-strong army group was introduced. The armed conflict continued with varying success. In 1969, a peace agreement was even signed between Saddam Hussein and Barzani.
But after 5 years, a new uprising broke out. This time the fighting was especially fierce and widespread. Over the years, the Iraqi army has strengthened significantly, finally suppressing the resistance of the Kurds.
Who are the Kurds?
Kurds are a people who originally lived in the Middle East. Most profess Islam, there are also adherents of Christianity, Yezidism and Judaism.
There are several versions about their origin. According to the most common, the ancestors became the Kurts - a warlike tribe from the mountainous regions of Atropatena, which is mentioned in many ancient sources.
Understanding how the Turks differ from the Kurd, one can come to the conclusion that there is nothing in common between their languages. Kurdish belongs to the Iranian group, and Turkish to Turkic. Moreover, a separate Kurdish language does not exist at all. Scientists talk about the Kurdish language group, which includes Sorani, Kurmanji, Kulkhuri.
Kurds have never had their own state in history.
The creation of the Kurdistan Workers Party
In the second half of the 20th century, nationalism among the Kurds led to the creation of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). It was not only a political, but also a military organization. Soon after its appearance, the Turkish-Kurdish conflict began.
Initially, it was a socialist left, but after the military coup in Turkey in 1980, almost the entire leadership was arrested. One of the party leaders, Abdullah Ocalan, took refuge with his closest supporters in Syria.
Initially, the cause of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict was the PKK's desire to create a sovereign state of the Kurds. In 1993, it was decided to change the course. Now the struggle is only being waged to create their own autonomy within Turkey.
It is noted that all this time the Turkish Kurds are being persecuted. In Turkey, the use of their language is prohibited, moreover, even the existence of the nationality itself is not recognized. Officially they are called "mountain Turks."
The beginning of the guerrilla war
Initially, the conflict between Turkey and the PKK developed in the form of a guerrilla war, which began in 1984. The authorities attracted a regular army to suppress the uprising. In the region where Turkish Kurds operate, a state of emergency was introduced in 1987.
It should be noted that the main Kurdish bases were located in Iraq. The governments of the two countries entered into a formal agreement signed by Turgut Ozal and Saddam Hussein, which allowed the Turkish military to invade the territory of a neighboring country, pursuing partisan detachments. During the 1990s, the Turks conducted several major military operations in Iraq.
Ocalan's arrest
Turkey considers the capture of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan one of its main successes. The operation was carried out by Israeli and American intelligence services in Kenya in February 1999.
It is noteworthy that shortly before this, Ocalan urged the Kurds to go to a truce. After this, the partisan war began to decline. In the early 2000s, hostilities in southeastern Turkey almost completely ceased.
Ocalan ended up in Kenya after being forced to leave Syria. President Hafez al-Assad, under pressure from Ankara, asked him to leave. After that, the Kurdish leader sought political asylum, including in Russia, Italy and Greece, but to no avail.
After the capture in Kenya, it was transferred to the Turkish special services. He was sentenced to death, which under pressure from the world community was replaced by life imprisonment. Now he is 69 years old, serving time on the island of Imrali, located in the Sea of Marmara.
New leader
After the arrest of Ocalan, Murat Karayylan became the new leader of the PKK. He is now 65 years old.
It is known that he urged Kurds to evade service in the Turkish army, not to use the Turkish language and not to pay taxes.
In 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department accused Karayylan and two other leaders of the Kurdistan Workers Party of drug trafficking.
Activization of the separatists
Again, the separatists intensified in 2005. They began to operate again, using their military bases in northern Iraq.
In 2008, the Turkish army conducted a large-scale operation, which was recognized as the largest in a decade.
The Turks launched an active offensive in 2011. True, all air raids and bombing of Iraqi Kurdistan did not bring the desired results. The Minister of the Interior, Naim Shahin, then even declared the necessity of introducing Turkish troops into Iraq to fight against the Kurds.
Serious damage to the PKK was done in October. As a result of a targeted airstrike on one of the military bases, 14 partisans were destroyed, among which were several leaders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party.
A week later, the Kurds fought back in Hakkari province. 19 military facilities belonging to the Turkish army were attacked. According to official statements by the military, 26 soldiers became victims of the attack. In turn, the Firat news agency, which is considered close to the PKK, claimed 87 dead and 60 wounded.
From October 21 to October 23, Turkey launched another series of airstrikes on the alleged locations of the military burgs of the Kurds in the Chukurj region. 36 separatists, according to official information, were destroyed. Kurds, as well as surviving partisans, claimed the Turks used chemical weapons. Official Ankara rejected these allegations as unfounded. An investigation was launched with the participation of international experts, which is still ongoing.
The impossibility of a truce
In 2013, Ocalan, serving his life sentence, conveyed a historical appeal in which he spoke of the need to stop the armed struggle. He called on supporters to switch to political methods.
Then a truce was signed for joint action against the Islamic State.
However, two years after this, the Kurdistan Workers Party stated that it did not see the possibility of concluding a truce with Turkey in the future. This decision was made after the bombing of the territory of Iraq by the Turkish Air Force. As a result of this airstrike, the positions of both terrorists and Kurds were affected.
Operation in Silopi and Jizzra
In December 2015, the Turkish army announced the start of a full-scale operation against the militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party in the cities of Silopi and Jizra. It was attended by about 10 thousand police and military with the support of tanks.
The separatists tried to block the entry of vehicles into Jizzrah. To do this, they dug ditches and built barricades. Several firing points in residential buildings were equipped, from which attempts to storm the city were reflected.
As a result, the tanks took up positions in the hills, from where they began to shell the positions of the Kurds, already located in the city. In parallel, 30 armored vehicles rushed to storm one of the districts of Dzhizra.
On January 19, 2016, the Turkish authorities officially announced the completion of the anti-terrorist operation in Silopi. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, expressed concern about the shelling of the city of Jizra from tanks by the international community. According to him, among the victims were civilians who carried the bodies of the dead under white flags.
Current situation
The conflict is still ongoing. Exacerbations occur from time to time. Neither side has plans for its completion.
In 2018, the Turkish armed forces conducted a new operation. This time in the Syrian city of Afrin. She received the code name "Olive Branch".
Its goal was to eliminate the Kurdish rebel groups that were stationed in Northern Syria, in close proximity to the southeastern borders of Turkey. Historically, these areas have been predominantly populated by Kurds.
The Turkish government issued an official statement calling the rebel groups stationed in these territories leftist branches of the Kurdistan Workers' Party. They were accused of subversive and partisan activities in this area of the country.
