Key Facts
- Duration
- 1978–ongoing (46+ years)
- Est. dead (1984–2012)
- ~40,000, mostly Kurdish civilians
- Dead post-2015 (Turkey)
- ~8,000 killed in Turkey alone
- Dead post-2015 (Syria/Iraq)
- ~20,000 in Turkish ops abroad
- Economic cost to Turkey
- $300–450 billion (mostly military)
- PKK founding year
- 1978, village of Fis, Lice
Strategic Narrative Overview
Full-scale insurgency began on 15 August 1984. Fighting spread across southeastern Turkey and into Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan, prompting repeated Turkish ground incursions and airstrikes abroad. Öcalan was captured in 1999. A significant ceasefire and peace process began in 2013, with Öcalan announcing an end to armed struggle in March of that year. The 2015 Suruç bombing and subsequent killing of Turkish police officers collapsed the ceasefire, reigniting large-scale conflict.
01 / The Origins
The PKK was founded in 1978 by Abdullah Öcalan and Kurdish students in southeastern Turkey, responding to systematic suppression of Kurdish language, culture, and identity. The Turkish state banned Kurdish language in public and private life, categorised Kurds as 'Mountain Turks', and prohibited the words 'Kurds' and 'Kurdistan'. The PKK's original goal was an independent Kurdistan, later revised in 2010 to demand autonomy and cultural rights within Turkey.
03 / The Outcome
The conflict remains ongoing as of 2025. No final settlement has been reached. Turkish military operations have continued inside Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. Thousands more died after 2015. Both sides have faced international condemnation for human rights abuses. The PKK's shift from separatism to demands for autonomy and cultural rights has not produced a negotiated resolution, and Abdullah Öcalan remains imprisoned on an island in the Sea of Marmara.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Abdullah Öcalan.
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.