Kurdish-Turkish Conflict
All topics-
Erdogan and the Kurdish conflict
A battle for votes
For a brief moment, NATO allies thought they were witnessing a major policy turnaround when Turkey finally joined the campaign against Islamic State. But in actual fact, Ankara's first priority appears to be to move against the PKK and the HDP, the pro-Kurdish party that prevented President Erdogan's party from retaining its parliamentary majority. By Markus Bernath
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The Kurdish conflict
Barzani in a tight spot
Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, wants rid of the PKK. Demanding that the group leaves the Qandil Mountains is a politically calculated move. But the Iraqi Kurds are not united in this view: another leading Iraqi Kurd politician and former Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, wants the PKK to stay. An analysis by Birgit Svensson in Erbil
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Turkish military operations against IS and the PKK
Erdogan's double strategy
After years of hesitancy, Turkey has begun launching airstrikes on IS positions in Syria. At the same time, Ankara has also deployed its air force against fighters with the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Analysts suspect that President Erdogan is now pursuing a strategy all his own. By Cigdem Akyol in Istanbul
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Kurds in Iraq
When hope turns to fear
By extending its airstrikes against the terror organisation IS to include Kurdish militant PKK targets, Turkey risks escalating conflict with other Kurdish groups in the region. The Iraqi Kurds are worried. By Birgit Svensson in Irbil
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After the attack in Suruc
Turkey fighting on two fronts
After a decade of relative calm, terror has returned to Turkey. The country has now decided to fight this terror on two flanks simultaneously. According to Rainer Hermann, this escalation could have been avoided
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Interview with Turkish political scientist Gulistan Gurbey
Litmus test for Turkish democracy
Political scientist Gulistan Gurbey sees two consequences of the electoral success of the pro-Kurdish HDP: firstly, it has prevented the introduction of a presidential system favoured by President Erdogan and secondly, it will have positive impulses for Turkish democracy. Nevertheless, she believes that turbulent times lie ahead. Interview conducted by Basak Ozay
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Turkey after the general election
No balcony speeches for Erdogan
The fact that a Kurd, of all people, has mounted a successful challenge to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is tantamount to a revolution. One thing is clear: the AKP can no longer continue deriding its critics as it has previously done. But what options are now open to the party? By Cigdem Akyol in Istanbul
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Yazidis in Turkey
Old homeland, new homeland
Despite the alarming situation in the Kurdish region of neighbouring Iraq, some Yazidis have recently returned from Germany to their native villages in south-eastern Anatolia. The coming years will indicate whether the resettlement is a lasting one. By Ekrem Guzeldere in the Turkish province of Mardin
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Inside Kobani
The political game and the humanitarian crisis
The city of Kobani in northern Syria has been under seige from Islamic State (IS) for over a month now. In recent days, Turkey has allowed a military convoy of Iraqi peshmerga and Free Syrian Army fighters to pass through its territory en route to Kobani. However, the peshmerga are arriving relatively late in the day. Thousands of Kurds from Syria, Turkey and Iraq have already joined the YPG and are in Kobani defending the city. They may all be fighting the same enemy, but they are certainly not united among themselves. By Kiran Nazish in Erbil
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Interview with Turkish politician Sirri Sureyya Onder
The solution to the Kurdish conflict as a yardstick for democracy
Sirri Sureyya Onder of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) is a member of the Turkish parliament and a negotiator in the talks between Abdullah Ocalan, head of the PKK, and the Turkish state. In an interview with Ceyda Nurtsch, he expresses his thoughts on the political future of Turkey under President Erdogan and on the negotiations to solve the Kurdish conflict
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Turkey and the alliance against IS
Of inaction and double standards
In recent days, there have been a lot of reports about the Kurds' determined battle against the terrorist group Islamic State in Kobani, northern Syria. In this context, Turkey has frequently been accused of "inaction". Why? An essay by Cemal Karakas
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Turkey, IS and the Kurdish conflict
"Kobani is now everywhere"
The deputy chairman of the PKK, Cemil Bayik, accuses Turkey of supporting IS and consciously ending the peace process. He views the recent Turkish parliamentary motion authorising the use of force in Syria and Iraq as a preparation for war – albeit a war against the PKK rather than against IS. Difficult weeks now lie ahead for Turkey and the Kurds. By Ekrem Guzeldere in Erbil