TurkeyKey figures
Who is fighting
Republic of Turkey
- Turkish Armed Forces
- Gendarmerie General Command
- Turkish National Police
- Village Guards
- NATO allies (arms, intelligence; reported)
- Kurdistan Regional Government (security cooperation, reported)
- Iraq (security cooperation since 2024)
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - dissolved 12 May 2025
- People's Defence Forces (HPG)
- Free Women's Units (YJA-STAR)
- Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) affiliates
- No state sponsor acknowledged; Turkey alleges past support from various governments
Force sizes are estimates of personnel or fighters, usually from IISS, government statements or specialist reporting; irregular forces are especially hard to count. "(reported)" marks external support that the backer disputes or has not confirmed.
Background
The PKK, founded in 1978 under Abdullah Ocalan, launched an armed campaign for Kurdish independence, later autonomy, in south-eastern Turkey in August 1984. The 1990s saw the war's peak, with thousands of villages evacuated and hundreds of thousands displaced. Ocalan was captured in 1999 and has been held on Imrali island since. A 2013-15 peace process collapsed in July 2015, followed by urban warfare in Kurdish-majority cities and, from 2019, Turkish cross-border operations (the 'Claw' series) against PKK bases in the Qandil, Gara, Zap and Metina areas of Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as strikes on the PKK-linked YPG/SDF in Syria.
Crisis Group's open-source tally counted 7,152 named deaths in Turkey and northern Iraq between July 2015 and early 2025: 646 civilians, 1,494 state security personnel, 4,786 PKK militants (an undercount, in its view) and 262 of unknown affiliation. Turkish government figures cite more than 40,000 PKK members killed, captured or surrendered since 1984, and the overall death toll is conventionally put at about 40,000.
In October 2024 nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli invited Ocalan to address parliament and dissolve the PKK; on 27 February 2025 Ocalan called on the PKK to lay down arms. The PKK declared a ceasefire on 1 March 2025, held its 12th congress in May and announced its dissolution on 12 May 2025. On 11 July 2025 a group of fighters burned their weapons near Sulaymaniyah, parliament set up a cross-party commission in August 2025, and on 26 October 2025 the PKK said it was withdrawing all its forces from Turkey to northern Iraq. Talks stalled in spring 2026 over constitutional recognition of Kurdish rights.
On 10 August 2026 parliament passed a 12-article framework law offering conditional amnesty and suspended sentences to PKK members, contingent on verified disarmament and excluding those convicted of killings (and therefore Ocalan). A monitoring board chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz created working groups on legal issues, reintegration and disarmament, with the National Security Council expected to rule on verification. In October 2026 Turkish security sources said the PKK had evacuated four positions in the Metina region near the border, as Ankara and Baghdad expanded security cooperation. Unresolved issues include Ocalan's release, Kurdish language and identity rights, the release of jailed Kurdish politicians, and the status of PKK-linked forces in Syria, where Turkey backed the Syrian government's January 2026 offensive against the SDF.
Recent developments
- 12 October 2026PKK fighters complete the evacuation of four positions in the Metina region near the Turkish border, according to Turkish security sources, amid growing Ankara-Baghdad security cooperation. source ↗
- 25 August 2026A monitoring board chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz holds its first meeting and sets up working groups on legal issues, monitoring, reintegration and disarmament; Ocalan says the process is moving forward. source ↗
- 10 August 2026Parliament passes the 12-article framework law offering conditional amnesty and suspended sentences, excluding those convicted of killings. source ↗
- 29 July 2026CFR's conflict tracker rates the situation 'improving' but describes the political process as stagnant, with Kurdish parties accusing Ankara of failing to deliver reforms. source ↗
- 15 May 2026Peace process stalls over constitutional recognition of Kurdish rights; PKK figure Murat Karayilan accuses Ankara of 'effectively stopping the process'. source ↗
Timeline
- 15 August 1984PKK launches its armed insurgency with attacks in Eruh and Semdinli.
- 15 February 1999Abdullah Ocalan is captured in Kenya and imprisoned on Imrali island.
- 21 March 2013Ocalan announces a ceasefire, opening a peace process that collapses in July 2015.
- 24 July 2015Fighting resumes; urban battles in Cizre, Sur and Nusaybin follow in 2015-16.
- 27 May 2019Turkey begins the 'Claw' operations against PKK bases in northern Iraq.
- 22 October 2024MHP leader Devlet Bahceli invites Ocalan to address parliament and dissolve the PKK.
- 27 February 2025Ocalan calls on the PKK to lay down its arms and dissolve.
- 1 March 2025PKK declares a unilateral ceasefire.
- 12 May 2025PKK announces its dissolution and the end of its armed struggle after its 12th congress.
- 11 July 2025A group of PKK fighters burns its weapons in a ceremony near Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan.
- 26 October 2025PKK announces the withdrawal of all its forces from Turkey to northern Iraq.
- 10 August 2026Turkish parliament passes a framework law with conditional amnesty and reintegration measures (467 of 592 votes).
- 12 October 2026Turkish security sources say the PKK has evacuated four positions in the Metina region of northern Iraq.
Casualties and displacement in detail
| Measure | Low | High | What the figure covers · source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total killed (cumulative) | 40,000 | 40,000 | Conventional estimate of about 40,000 killed since 1984 (CFR); Turkey cites more than 40,000 PKK members killed, captured or surrendered, and the PKK claims 22,660 of its members killed 1976-2026 (Wikipedia). Crisis Group's named-fatality tally gives 7,152 deaths in Turkey and northern Iraq from July 2015 to early 2025. No comprehensive verified count exists. cfr.org ↗ |
| Combatants killed | 1,494 | 1,494 | Turkish security forces (soldiers, police, village guards) killed since July 2015 only, per Crisis Group as reported in February 2025; PKK militants killed in the same period: 4,786 (undercount per Crisis Group). No verified figures for 1984-2015. english.adnkronos.com ↗ |
| Civilians killed | 646 | 646 | Civilians killed since July 2015 only (Crisis Group); Turkish figures cited on Wikipedia put civilian deaths at 5,478 for 1984-2013. english.adnkronos.com ↗ |
| Wounded | – | – | No cumulative figure published; Crisis Group's casualty tracker counts deaths only. crisisgroup.org ↗ |
| Deaths in the last 12 months | – | – | No fatal Turkey-PKK clashes were identified in 2026 sources consulted (CFR tracker updated July 2026; Crisis Group tally not updated since 2024-25); this is not a verified zero. Turkish cross-border strikes in 2025-26 could not be confirmed from the sources available. cfr.org ↗ |
| Internally displaced | 350,000 | 500,000 | About 350,000 displaced by the 2015-16 urban fighting (Crisis Group, via Wikipedia); up to about 500,000 Kurds displaced by village evacuations by 1996 (via Wikipedia). No current IDP caseload is tracked. en.wikipedia.org ↗ |
| Refugees abroad | – | – | Not compiled; cross-border displacement linked to this conflict is small and not tracked separately by UNHCR. crisisgroup.org ↗ |
Intensity classification: Below the UCDP 25-death threshold in 2026: the PKK declared a ceasefire on 1 March 2025 and its dissolution on 12 May 2025, and no fatal Turkey-PKK clashes were found in 2026 reporting (CFR status 'improving'). Crisis Group's tally recorded 96 deaths in January-July 2024, the last period before the ceasefire for which a figure was found. Included as a ceasefire conflict of major public interest..
Countries affected
Frequently asked questions
Who is fighting in the Turkey-PKK conflict (Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency)?
Republic of Turkey (Turkish Armed Forces, Gendarmerie General Command, Turkish National Police, Village Guards), supported by NATO allies (arms, intelligence; reported), Kurdistan Regional Government (security cooperation, reported), Iraq (security cooperation since 2024); against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - dissolved 12 May 2025 (People's Defence Forces (HPG), Free Women's Units (YJA-STAR), Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) affiliates), supported by No state sponsor acknowledged; Turkey alleges past support from various governments.
How many people have been killed?
Estimates range from 40,000 killed as of 12 October 2026. Conventional estimate of about 40,000 killed since 1984 (CFR); Turkey cites more than 40,000 PKK members killed, captured or surrendered, and the PKK claims 22,660 of its members killed 1976-2026 (Wikipedia). Crisis Group's named-fatality tally gives 7,152 deaths in Turkey and northern Iraq from July 2015 to early 2025. No comprehensive verified count exists. Civilian deaths are put at 646. Figures come from the sources listed on this page and differ in method; see the caveats above.
Is the Turkey-PKK conflict (Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency) still ongoing in 2026?
Status as of 19 October 2026: Ceasefire / truce — The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fought the Turkish state from 1984 in a conflict commonly estimated to have killed about 40,000 people. After jailed founder Abdullah Ocalan called on it to disarm in February 2025, the PKK declared a ceasefire, announced its dissolution on 12 May 2025, held a symbolic weapons-burning ceremony in northern Iraq in July 2025 and withdrew its fighters from Turkey in October 2025. In 2026 Turkey's parliament passed a framework law with conditional amnesty (10 August), a monitoring board began verifying disarmament, and PKK fighters vacated camps in the Metina area of northern Iraq (October 2026). The process is fragile, with disputes over Kurdish rights, Ocalan's status and the pace of reforms, but no renewed fighting had been reported as of October 2026.
When did it start?
The current phase began on 15 August 1984, but the underlying conflict dates back to 1978 — 42 years, 2 months ago.
Sources
- CFR Global Conflict Tracker - Conflict between Turkey and armed Kurdish groups cfr.org
- Crisis Group - Turkey's PKK conflict: a visual explainer crisisgroup.org
- Al-Monitor - Turkey's Kurdish peace process moves to implementation (August 2026) al-monitor.com
- Al-Monitor - PKK says withdrawing all forces from Turkey (October 2025) al-monitor.com
- AP - Ocalan urges PKK to disarm (27 February 2025) apnews.com
- Wikipedia - Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency en.wikipedia.org
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