All articles tagged with #kurdish
PKK fighters began disarming near Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, symbolizing a move towards peace after 40 years of conflict with Turkey. The disarmament follows a declaration to disband and is supported by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, emphasizing political solutions over armed conflict. The group aims to promote peace and Kurdish rights, ending decades of violence that resulted in around 40,000 deaths.
The article argues that the U.S. must continue supporting its Kurdish partners, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Syria to prevent regional instability and counter hostile actors like ISIS. It highlights the threat posed by Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) rebels and the need for U.S. mediation between the SDF and Turkey. The authors emphasize the strategic importance of maintaining a U.S. presence in the region to safeguard gains against ISIS and influence Syria's future, while also addressing Turkey's security concerns.
Turkey conducted a series of airstrikes targeting electricity and oil infrastructure in Syria's Kurdish-held northeast, resulting in several power stations and water pumping stations being put out of service. At least 40 sites were hit in the shelling, leaving 10 border towns without power or water. The strikes, part of Turkey's ongoing conflict with the Kurdish YPG, also affected oil and natural gas facilities, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirming the airstrikes in northern Iraq and Syria following the deaths of nine Turkish soldiers in a clash with the PKK. The attacks have caused significant damage to critical infrastructure and raised concerns among residents about the safety of their children.
Iraqi security forces have been deployed in Kirkuk following ethnic clashes that resulted in the deaths of four protesters. The clashes erupted after tensions escalated over a building in Kirkuk that was previously the headquarters for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) but has been used as an army base since 2017. The federal supreme court issued a ruling delaying the handover of the building to the KDP, which could further raise tensions. The city of Kirkuk has been a focal point of violence between the Kurdish autonomous region and Iraq's central government. Arab residents and minority groups have protested the KDP's return to the city, claiming past mistreatment under Kurdish rule.
Following his victory in Turkey's recent election, President Erdogan continued his divisive rhetoric, denigrating his opponent, dismissing LGBTQ people as a threat to "family," and ruling out the release of an imprisoned Kurdish political leader. Analysts predict that Erdogan will continue to use polarizing discourse to maintain his coalition of voters, setting Turkey on a divisive and turbulent course for the foreseeable future. Erdogan's victory was a blow to opposition supporters who had rallied around pledges of restoring democracy and protecting civil liberties. Despite his winning strategy, Erdogan faces challenges in stabilizing the economy and managing coalition partners with extreme views.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been reelected in a runoff that experts say is the latest trend in the rise of illiberal democracies. The Kurdish heartland of Diyarbakir has been there before, but now it has spread from the periphery to the centre, and probably beyond Turkey’s borders. Turkey’s Kurds, who constitute an estimated 18% of the country’s population, went to the polls in the 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections with their most electable leader, Selahattin Demirtas, in prison. Despite a judgment by the European Court of Human Rights ordering his release, Demirtas has remained in jail for the past seven years.
The upcoming May 14 election in Turkey represents the best chance in a generation to depose President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has ruled for two decades with an increasingly iron fist. The opposition candidate, Kemal Kiliçdaroğlu, represents the best hope for an exhausted nation, but his appeals to the Kurds are mostly pragmatic, and he has formed the symbol of the ultranationalist, hard-right Grey Wolves paramilitary group, in a sop to the millions of voters who loathe any move toward recognition of minority rights.