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Timeline of the Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency (2015–present)

January 01, 1970

In late July 2015, the third phase of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict between various Kurdish insurgent groups and the Turkish government erupted, following a failed two and a half year-long peace process aimed at resolving the long-running conflict.

Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
Part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict and the Spillover of the Syrian civil war
Date24 July 2015 – present
(8 years, 9 months and 3 days)
Location
Eastern and Southeastern Turkey, Northern Syria, Northern Iraq
For a map, see here
Status

Ongoing

  • Uprising suppressed in Turkey.
  • Start of Turkish major intervention in Syria against YPG militants.
Belligerents
 Turkey

Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK)

YDG-H:

PURM
Kurdistan Freedom Hawks
Commanders and leaders
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Yaşar Güler (since 10 July 2018)
Hulusi Akar (from 18 August 2015 to 10 July 2018)
Necdet Özel (until 18 August 2015)		 Mirad Qarayîlan
Bahoz Erdal
Cemil Bayık
Hülya Eroğlu[1] † (senior council member)
Ayfer Kordu[2] † (senior council member)
Units involved

Turkish Armed Forces

Turkish National Police

Village Guards

Other forces:
Grey Wolves[3]

PKK

PJAK
YDG-H

HBDH
Strength
Around 10,000 Turkish police and military personnel[4]
360,000 active military personnel[5]
244,000 Police forces[6][7]
(2015 figures, of which not all are directly involved)
233,000 Security Guards[6]
54,000 Village Guards[8]		 4,000–33,000[9][10]
Less than 180 left inside Turkey (per Turkey's Ministry of the Internal Affairs)[11]
Casualties and losses
1,454 security forces killed (per the Crisis Group)[12]
1,129 security forces killed (per Turkey; as of Sept. 2020)[13]
7,000-9,000 security forces killed (per PKK; as of Jan. 2017)[14][15][16][17]

8330 PKK And Yps in Cizre

militants killed (per the Crisis Group)[12]
27,584+ militants killed or captured (per Turkey, includes Syrian civil war and North Iraq Turkey-Pkk conflict)[18]
1,181 militants killed (per PKK; as of Jan. 2017)[14][15][17]
614 civilians killed (per the Crisis Group)[12]
226 unidentified killed (civilians or militants; per the Crisis Group)[12]
6,535 civilians killed (per Turkey)[19]
500–1,000 civilians killed (per HDP)[20]
2,000 killed in total (per UN; as of March 2017)[21]
500,000 displaced (per the Crisis Group)[22]

The conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) broke out again in summer 2015 following two-year-long peace negotiations. These began in late 2012, but failed to progress in light of the growing tensions on the Turkish-Syrian border in late 2014, when the Turkish state prevented its Kurdish citizens from sending support to the People's Protection Units (YPG) who were fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the Siege of Kobani. Turkey was accused of assisting the Islamic State during the siege,[23][better source needed] resulting in the widespread 2014 Kurdish riots in Turkey involving dozens of fatalities.

In November 2015, Turkish authorities said that a number of towns and areas in the Eastern Anatolia Region had come under the control of PKK militants and affiliated armed organizations. According to Turkish government sources, between July 2015 and May 2016, 2,583 Kurdish insurgents were killed in Turkey and 2,366 in Iraq, as well as 483 members of the Turkish security forces.[24] The PKK said 1,557 Turkish security forces members were killed in 2015 during the clashes in Turkish and Iraqi Kurdistan, while it lost 220 fighters.[25] According to the International Crisis Group, 4,310 people, including 465 civilians, were killed in Turkey between July 2015 and December 2018,[12] including Kurdish lawyer Tahir Elçi.[26] In March 2017, the United Nations voiced "concern" over the Turkish government's operations and called for an independent assessment of the "massive destruction, killings and numerous other serious human rights violations" against the ethnic Kurdish minority.[27]

Since 2016, the Turkish military and Syrian National Army have conducted operations against the Syrian Democratic Forces, leading to the Turkish occupation of northern Syria.[28][29][30][31]

In May 2022, the conflict gained global geopolitical significance as Turkey opposed the accession of Finland and Sweden into NATO, accusing them of supporting the PKK.[32]

Background edit

Main articles: Solution process, 2014 Kurdish riots in Turkey, and Rojava–Islamist conflict

The Kurdish-Turkish peace process saw negotiations begin between jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Turkish government in late 2012. A ceasefire was called, and the PKK agreed to withdraw from Turkish Kurdistan into Iraqi Kurdistan.[33] In 2014, anger increased among Turkish Kurds with what they saw as the Turkish state's facilitation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's assault on Syrian Kurds during the Rojava–Islamist conflict,[34] culminating in the 2014 Kurdish riots in Turkey during the Siege of Kobanî. The June 2015 Turkish general election saw Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lose its majority, and gains for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). Tensions increased further after the Suruç bombing and Ceylanpınar incident in July, after which the Turkish government launched the 2015 police raids in Turkey and attacked PKK positions in Iraq, prompting the PKK to call off its ceasefire.[35][36]

Belligerents edit

Turkish military and affiliates edit

Turkish Forces consisting of Turkish Land Forces troops, Gendarmerie operatives and Police Special Operations teams are backed by the rest of the Turkish Armed Forces. They are supported by a system of "village guards" which represent a feudal part of Turkey.[37] There have been recurring reports of the resurfacing Jitem "military police intelligence and anti-terrorist service" which had been responsible for massacres in the 1990s, and of irregular foreign jihadists, being employed.[38]

In 2016 the Turkish government of president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) were increasingly portraying the party they oppose as an enemy of an "islamic order", referring to the PKK and its affiliates and supporters as "atheists and Zoroastrians".[39][40][41]

PKK and affiliates edit

In 2008, according to information provided by the Intelligence Resource Program of the Federation of American Scientists the strength of the organization in terms of human resources consists of approximately 4,000 to 5,000 militants of whom 3,000 to 3,500 are located in northern Iraq.[42] With the new wave of fighting from 2015 onward, observers said that active support for the PKK had become a "mass phenomenon" in majority ethnic Kurdish cities in the Southeast of the Republic of Turkey, with large numbers of local youth joining PKK-affiliated local militant groups.[43]

According to Turkish estimates the PKK has a much larger size than the previously stated size standing at over 32,800 active fighters spanning across north-western Syria, south-eastern Turkey, northern Iraq and north-western Iran concentrated on the Qandil mountain range.[44]

PKK bases remain active in Northern Iraq and its leadership suspected in the Qandil Mountains in Iraq and Iran.[45][46] From the traditional preceding Turkish-PKK conflicts the PKK insurgency has transitioned into urban warfare in the country's densely populated south east.[47]

2015 timeline edit

Main article: Timeline of the Kurdish-Turkish conflict
 
Leyla İmret, a former mayor of Cizre, and German politician Cem Özdemir, 15 September 2015

July edit

Suruç bombing and suspected Turkish ISIL retaliations edit

See also: Ceylanpınar incidents

On 20 July 2015, a bombing in the predominantly Kurdish district of Suruç, reportedly perpetrated by the Dokumacılar group linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), killed 32 young activists and injured over 100. Most victims were members of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) Youth Wing and the Socialist Youth Associations Federation (SGDF), university-aged students who were giving a press statement on their planned trip to reconstruct the Syrian border town of Kobanî in the de facto autonomous Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava.[48][49]

  • On 21 July, the Turkish authorities said that the PKK's military wing has killed a Turkish soldier and wounded two more in Adıyaman, in retaliation for Suruc and what they say was Turkey's collaboration with ISIL.[50]
  • On 22 July, in Ceylanpinar (Turkey), two policemen were shot in the head by gunmen in their sleep.[51][52] A week later, however, Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) spokesman Demhat Agit said PKK was not involved, saying "these are the units independent from the PKK. They are local forces which organized themselves and not affiliated with us", despite reports that the PKK had previously claimed responsibility for the attack.[53][54]

Operation Martyr Yalçın against PKK edit

Main article: Operation Martyr Yalçın

The 21 and 22 July attacks were proclaimed a casus belli by the Turkish government, which resulted in Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu taking the decision to begin active air operations against PKK positions in Iraq. This was internationally perceived as the end of the ceasefire period in the Kurdish-Turkish conflict.[55][56][57] The New York Times assessed that "the Iraq raids, which began late Friday and continued into Saturday, effectively ended an unstable two-year cease-fire between the Turkish government and the Kurdish militants, also known by the initials of their Kurdish name, PKK".[58]

  • On 24 July, members of the PKK abducted a policeman in the province of Diyarbakir. Additionally two police officers were injured, one with life-threatening injuries, after a suspected PKK grenade attack in Hakkari.[59]
  • On 25 July, two Turkish soldiers were killed and four were wounded in a car bomb attack in the province of Diyarbakir in Turkey by PKK fighters.[60][61]

Operations Arslan Kulaksız and Hamza Yıldırım edit

Turkish Forces on 26 July reportedly again attacked the same village west of Kobani targeting Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters, and fired on a YPG vehicle west of Tell Abyad.[62]

  • On 26 July, it was reported that F-16s yet again took off from Diyarbakır, this time only targeting PKK targets in Northern Iraq. Although there was no official government statement on the airstrikes, PKK sources said that one of their key bases in Hakurk was attacked.[63] It was reported that the number of fighter jets taking part was significantly lower than the jets that took part in the previous waves of the operation.[64] The same day, Turkish artillery shelled a PKK position in the north of Iraq over several hours.[65]
  • On 27 July, in the province of Muş the Turkish head of the gendarmerie of the Malazgirt district was killed.[66]
  • On 28 July, for the first time since the beginning of the operation, two Turkish F-16s bombed PKK fighters inside Turkey, in the province of Sirnak.[67]
  • On 28 July, the pipeline between Turkey and Iran was blown up in the province of Agri in Turkey, according to the authorities PKK involvement was suspected[68] while a sergeant of the Turkish army was killed; according to the army, the PKK is responsible.[69] In another province, a police officer was kidnapped by suspected Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in southeastern Turkey.[70]
  • On 28–29 July, a new wave of shelling was launched in the night and PKK camps in Zap, Metina, Gara, Avaşin-Basyan, Hakurk and the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq were hit by Turkish fighter jets in an operation named after the recently killed gendarmerie major, Arslan Kulaksız.[71]
  • On 29 July, the oil pipeline between Kirkuk (Iraq) and Ceyhan (Turkey) was blown up in the east Turkey, in the Sirnak province[72] while in Hakkari, police quarters was under attack with heavy arms, including rocket launchers and long barrel rifles.[73] In another attack, one soldier was killed and 4 other were wounded in an attack in the Doğubeyazıt district in the eastern province of Ağri.[74]
  • On 30 July, a policeman and a civilian were killed in the town of Cinar by PKK guerilla according to the authority,[75] while three soldiers were killed in the attack of their convoy by PKK fighters in the province of Sirnak.[76]
  • On 31 July, Turkish reconnaissance aircraft once again flew over YPG territory in the north of Syria. While in Iraq, Turkish fighter jets shelling massively PKK positions.[77]
  • On 31 July, Turkish fighter jets shelled bases of PKK in the north of Iraq, with 30 warplanes were involved. This operation was named Hamza Yıldırım in honor of the Corporal Hamza Yıldırım killed by the PKK in Turkey a few days earlier.[78]
  • On 31 July, two policemen and two PKK fighters were killed by the PKK, in a PKK raid on a police station in Pozanti, Adana. In a separate incident, PKK militants bombed a railway line in the province of Kars in the country's east, killing a worker,[79][80] while three PKK fighters were killed in Agri province.[81]

August edit

  • On 1 August, two PKK fighters were killed and one civilian wounded in an attack in Çatak[82] while PKK fighters took 70 hostages for two hours in the Kars-Erzurum-Iğdır highway.[83]
  • On 2 August, one Turkish soldier was killed and four injured after a military convoy hit a mine in the Mardin Province. Both attacks were blamed on the PKK.[79]
  • On 4 August, PKK forces attacked a guard post in Şırnak Province with an RPG, killing one soldier and injuring another. In a separate attack, a mine killed two soldiers, also in Şırnak Province resulting in Turkish F-16s targeting PKK camps in the country's Hakkarı Province, with no information on casualties.
  • On 7 August, PKK attacks left eight dead during numerous attacks. In Silopi, Şırnak Province, five were killed during clashes between Police and the PKK, resulting in the deaths of at least one soldier and one police officer. In Doğubayazıt, Ağrı Province, a PKK attack left one soldier and one militant dead. A PKK attack on a police patrol in Milyat, Mardin Province killed one police officer. Elsewhere clashes were reported in Cizre and Uludere, Şırnak Province, Başkale, Van Province and Nusaybin, Mardin Province. PKK militants were also reported to have hijacked a minibus near Beytüşşebap, Şırnak Province.[84][85]
  • On 10 August, 9 people were killed in a series of PKK attacks in Turkey. In İstanbul, a car bomb targeted a police station, injuring ten police officers, one police officer and two attackers were killed in subsequent clashes. Two others attackers launched an attack on the US consulate in Istanbul however there were no casualties, police arrest one of the attackers, a female, in clashes following the attack. In Silopi, Şırnak Province, a mine hit a police convoy killing four officers. In Beytüşşebap, Sirnak Province, militants opened fire on a military helicopter, killing one soldier.[86] Turkish security forces killed a female PKK fighter named Kevser Eltürk, took a picture of her body after they stripped her naked, and distributed the photo.[87][88][89]
  • On 14 August, 4 soldiers were killed in a series of PKK attacks. Three soldiers were killed and six injured during clashes with the PKK in Dağlıca, Hakkarı Province. A civilian was killed during clashes between Police and the PKK in Bağlar, Diyarbakır.[90]
  • On 19 August, 4 Turkish police officers were killed by a roadside bomb [91]

September edit

  • On 3 September, PKK killed 4 Turkish police officers in Mardin province.[92]
  • On 5 September, the Turkish security forces besieged Cizre, in a one-week operation. The operations were reported to result in about 30 deaths among city's Kurdish residents.[93]
  • On 6 September, PKK killed 16 Turkish soldiers by a double bombing on a military convoy in Hakkari Province.[94]
  • On 8 September, PKK forces ambushed a Police minibus killing 14 officers. A second attack also resulted in the shooting and killing of a police officer by PKK forces.[94]
  • On 25–26 September, 34 PKK militants, 4 civilians and 2 Turkish soldiers were killed in Şırnak Province. PKK sources said 14 Kurdish insurgents and 75 Turkish Soldiers were killed.[95][96]
  • On 28 September, the Kurdish lawyer Tahir Elçi was killed.[97]

The Turkish police used "Armenian" as an insult to refer to the Kurdish people in Cizre and Burhan Kuzu, a senior adviser to the President of Turkey, said that PKK members were uncircumcised implying that they were Armenians.[98]

October edit

Further information: 2015 Hakkari assault
  • On 2 October, the Turkish military entered the southeastern city of Silvan, in the Diyarbakır Province with tanks, armored carriers and hundreds of troops to seek out and destroy PKK elements within the city. Resulting clashes left at least 17 PKK militants dead while PKK affiliated locals said the Turkish military had bombed civilian areas with artillery.[citation needed]
  • On 4 October, a video was released in which Hacı Lokman Birlik, a 24-year-old protester, was killed by Turkish security forces before his body was tied to a police car and dragged through the streets.[99] Some pro-government journalists and AKP members called the released video from the incident as a fake and photoshopped, while other Turkish newspapers, such as Sabah called it a "common routine against terrorists".[99] Haci Lokman Birlik was the brother-in-law of former HDP MP Leyla Birlik. Later, Prime Minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, said "it is not acceptable" and that both officers who were responsible of dragging the body of Birlik were fired. However, the HDP released a statement stating that both officers haven't been fired and statements of Ahmet Davutoglu are not true.[100]
  • On 10 October, a double suicide bombing was carried out in Ankara during an anti-war demonstration rally held by pro-Kurdish, leftist and communist civilians. The bombing resulted in at least 102 killed amongst the demonstrators.

November edit

  • On 5 November, the Turkish military concluded the 40-day long 2015 Hakkari assault ground offensive in the mountains of the south-eastern border province in which hundreds of PKK fighters were killed, dozens of their bunkers were destroyed and dozens of anti-aircraft weaponry was captured.[101]
  • On 15 November, the Turkish Air Force bombarded 44 different locations with F-16s F-4E 2020 Terminators and unmanned drones in Northern Iraq in response to the PKK attempting to reconstruct depots, barracks, bunkers and hideouts that were destroyed earlier in the year by the air strikes conducted on 31 July.[102]
  • On 21 November, the Turkish Air Force struck 23 different locations in the Şırnak border province and in Northern Iraq destroying caches and hideouts severing PKK supply lines.[103] These included supply and shelter points in the mountains of Semidinli, Hakkari, south-east Turkey, north of their Iraqi and Iranian borders.
  • On 22 November, the Turkish Air Force struck 7 different locations in the Hakkâri Province on the Iraqi border killing 10 PKK militants and destroying several shelters and supply points.[104] Two civilians were also killed during the curfew in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province on the Sunday in which on Monday 23rd entered its tenth consecutive day. The Turkish chief of General Staff earlier this year released a statement saying the Military is sensitive when it comes to civilian casualties who are caught up in armed clashes.[101][105]

December edit

  • On 2 December, PKK militants set a remote-controlled IED trap for a Turkish Army convoy, killing one soldier and injuring 9 others in the explosion in the Mardin Province.[106]
  • On 2 December, PKK militants launched an armed attack on a police checkpoint during a curfew in Sur injuring one officer and killing 3 PKK insurgents in the clash.[106]
  • On 8 December, the Turkish Air Force launched night-time airstrikes consisting of 10 F-16s into Northern Iraq's Kandil, Harkuk, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions.[107]
  • On 11 December, the Turkish Government imposed an indefinite 24h curfew for Sur, Diyarbakır.[108]
  • On 13 December, PKK militants launched 18 different explosive attacks on a police station in Dargeçit consisting of anti-armor RPG rockets and grenades injuring 3 police officers and 3 civilians just hours after counter-insurgency operation in the same town killed 11 militants.[citation needed]
  • On 14 December, the Turkish Government imposed an indefinite 24h curfew for the cities Cizre and Silopi.[108]
  • On 15 December, the Turkish Army and Police launched a massive operation in Şırnak Province's towns of Cizre and Silopi
  • On 17 December, in Cizre and Silopi the Turkish Army and Police Special Operations units backed by tanks, armored vehicle units, and helicopters began an operation which killed over 127 Kurdish rebels in a week. Also 27 civilians were reported to have died due to the operation. Security forces raided cleared abandoned houses and trenches, destroyed barricades while fighting through and liberating militant stronghold neighborhoods. Tank shelling and artillery strikes in the surrounding mountains were also conducted, cut-off neighborhood strongholds and sniper positions targeting security forces. It is estimated half the towns population had been driven out since violence sparked-up earlier in the year leaving many unoccupied apartments and houses to be utilized by the PKK to fortify and reinforce their presence prior to this operation.[109][110][111][112][113][114]
  • On 18 December, the Turkish minister of the interior Efkan Ala declared over 3,000 PKK militant had been neutralized, 10 tons of explosives had been seized, and 240 weapons had been captured since the collapse of the ceasefire earlier that year in late July [115]
  • On 21 December, a roadside bomb in Bitlis killed 2 soldiers and injured 8 others during an anti-PKK operation.[116]
  • On 30 December, 3 soldiers were wounded when PKK militants detonated an IED bomb in Sur.[117]
  • On 31 December, 1 police officer was killed and 5 others were injured during a police operation to disassemble barricades and fill in ditches dug up by militants when PKK militants fired a rocket upon security forces in Cizre. Four of the injured officers who were in urgent condition were sent to the capital, Ankara for further medical treatment.[117]
  • On 31 December, one police officer died after a PKK bomb attack in Sur during a house operation against militants. In the same operation Turkish security forces had seized an RPG, 3 rockets, an anti-tank missile, 30 electric bomb detonators and numerous PKK propaganda leaflets that police say aimed at provoking the public.[117]

2016 timeline edit

January edit

  • On 1 January, 12 PKK militants, two Police officers and a civilian were killed in Cizre.[118][119]

A Police officer was killed in Sur.[citation needed] A Soldier and one civilian was killed in Silopi[119][120] A Turkish tank malfunctioned and was damaged in Cizre.[121] A total of 18 were killed that day.

  • On 3 January, mine trap set by the PKK the previous night in a neighborhood killed 3 Turkish soldiers in Sur.[122]
  • On 4 January, rocket attacks launched by the PKK's youth militant arm YDG-H at security forces in Şırnak resulted in an incurring shoot-out in which 2 militants were killed.[123]
  • On 7 January, Turkish Forces killed 16 militants in Cizre and 2 in Sur bringing the PKK death toll over the last 3 weeks in the Şırnak Province to 426.[124]
  • On 7 January, the Turkish Military captured 58 PKK militants fleeing to Iraq disguised as local villagers in the town of Silopi of the Şırnak Province
  • On 8 January, Turkish Police Special Operations, Rapid Response Force riot police and Police intelligence teams raided a HDP Kurdish opposition party's office in Istanbul arresting 5 Kurdish politicians after Police were informed that the murder weapon of 22 July 2015 murder of 2 police officers conducted by PKK militants in their sleep in Ceylanpınar was being held in that office.[124]
  • On 9 January, a soldier and a police officer were shot-dead in an attack by PKK militants in Diyarbakır, Turkey's largest predominantly Kurdish south-eastern city.[125]
  • On 10 January, heavy clashes during a counter-terrorism operation between the PKK and police in eastern Van killed 12 PKK militants and a police officer. Security forces say the operation successfully prevented a large scale attack against government buildings.[125]
  • On 10 January, Turkish troops killed 20 PKK militants in Cizre, Silopi and Sur during clashes.[125]
  • On 12 January, Turkish Police detained 16 suspects belonging to the YDG-H in Elazığ during a raid in which documents explicitly planning a crowd demonstration to harm public buildings and boast PKK propaganda was seized similar to the 7 January elementary school burning incident in Sirnak. The documents themselves are believed to be handed down from the PKK to the YDG-H youth group.[126]
  • On 12 January, the Turkish Air Force conducted night-time airstrikes on PKK camps in the Great Zab, Gare, Avashin, and Basyan regions of northern Iraq using four F-16Ds and two F-4 Terminator 2020s technologically modernized heavy combat aircraft whilst using drones to locate camps, quartering caves and shelters prior to the strike. In the same statement to press the Turkish Armed Forces stated that 578 terrorists had been killed since 15 December, bringing the overall PKK death toll to 3,678 since July 2015.[127][128]
  • On 14 January, a car bomb targeting a police station and police housing unit adjacent to the station killed 6 people and injured 40 in Çınar, Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey. Amongst the dead where relatives of police including a family consisting of a wife, a 5-year-old and an infant. Upon the initial bomb attack, PKK militants opened fire using rockets and assault weapons on the security complex resulting in a fierce firefight.[129][130] The PKK claimed the attack left over 30 Police officers dead as quoted by pro-Kurdish media, however said that more than five civilian were killed as a result of the attack.[131]
  • On 14 January, Turkish Army troops killed 19 PKK militants in a government operations as-well as capturing a total of 10 PKK militants and affiliates. According to the Turkish General Staff, 12 were killed in heavy clashes in Cizre, 5 were killed and 10 were captured in Silopi, and 2 were killed in Sur.[132]
  • On 15 January, 1 Turkish Police Special Operations officer was wounded and killed in a raid on a PKK Sleeper cell in Siirt by sniper fire from PKK militants. According to Turkish media reports, over 15,000 people attended the funeral of the slain officer Yalçın Yamaner in Tokat. The family of the slain officer whom were being accommodated in police family lodges are to be bought a house on the behalf of the General Directorate of Security.[132][133][134][135][136]
  • On 18 January, a total of 3 service members of the Turkish Police Special Operation Department were killed and 7 were wounded in a night-time IED trap set the day before targeting the convoy in Idil. Ensuing heavy clashes reportedly lasted till dawn.[137]
  • On 18 January, 2 Police Special Operations officers were killed and 12 were wounded in the Yenimahalle neighborhood of Şırnak Province when a police bus was struck by a rocket fired by PKK insurgents.[137]
  • On 18 January, a Turkish Army specialized sergeant succumbed to his injuries and died shortly after being critically wounded by sniper fire in Sur.[137]
  • On 19 January, Cizre municipal council member Abdülhamit Poçal and Selman Erdoğan were killed and IMC TV cameraman Refik Tekin along with 10 others were wounded during a firefight between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants though it is not clear who opened fire on the group. Pro-Kurdish sources say that it was the Turkish side.[138][139][140]
  • On 19 January, Turkish Forces conducted an operation extracting a family from their neighborhood who had received threats from the PKK to not leave and stopping those who attempt to. The PKK calls for Kurds in the region to not leave their houses and participate in the so-called resistance.[141]
  • On 19 January, 3 Police Special Operations members were wounded when PKK militants opened fire on units removing roadblocks, dismantling barricades and filling up trenches set up by PKK elements.[citation needed]
  • On 21 January, new Turkish Military raids is Silopi led to the discovery of a U.S. made RQ-20 Puma UAV in the hands of PKK militants. Turkish Military officials believe that the aerial surveillance drone was handed to PKK elements by the YPG, the PKK's sister group based in Syria who are backed by the U.S. despite fierce Turkish objection. The discovery of the drone by Turkish troops further confirmed Turkey's suspicions of U.S. and various European weapons being supplied to the YPG would eventually end up in PKK hands.[142][143]
  • On 27 January, while clearing out boobytrapped barricades in Sur, 4 members of the Turkish security forces were killed in a simultaneously launched attack consisting of pre-planted remote detonated explosives, rocket and sniper fire by PKK militants consisting of 3 army soldiers and a Police Special Operations officer while also wounding critically wounding 6 others. According to the Turkish Army, ensuing fierce clashes killed 9 PKK militants.[144][145]

February edit

  • On 1 February, 3 Turkish soldiers and 2 police were killed in the Sur district of Diyarbakır.[146]
  • On 3 February, the Turkish Air Force launched a massive scale air-strike operation consisting of around 40 jets and hit over 100 targets in Northern Iraq. Targets hit included a PKK meeting in Qandil.[147]
  • On 7 February, more than 150 civilians were reportedly burnt in a basement by Turkish security forces.[148][149] 3 Turkish troops were wounded amongst the fierce clashes by a bomb trap. During the raid, PKK militants were reportedly speaking on the phone with Faysal Sarıyıldiz, a HDP parliamentarian.[149]
  • On 12 February, Turkish Army troops killed 16 PKK militants in the town of Cizre, 5 in Sur and 6 in Hakkâri Province bringing the overall PKK death toll to 27 while 24 bodies of PKK militants killed in previous operations were recovered the same day.[150][151]
  • On 17 February, a Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) militant[152] carried out a car bomb attack in Turkey's capital of Ankara killing 28 people, including 27 military personnel, and injuring a further 61. The attack targeted a bus full of military personnel in close proximity to the Turkish Armed Forces Department of Defense and parliament building. Security forces have currently detained 14 people in connection with the bombing.[153][154][155][156]

The government held both the YPG and PKK responsible for the attack, even after the TAK claimed responsibility. It was later confirmed by DNA reports that the perpetrator was a TAK militant.[157][158][159]

  • On 18 February, Turkish Air Force fighter jets launched large scale air strikes in northern Iraq in response to the previous days Ankara bombing hitting a group of 60-70 militants including senior commanders in Qandil.[160][161]
  • On 18 February, a roadside bomb in Diyarbakır Province killed 6 Turkish troops while another two were killed in armed attacks in the Şırnak Province.[160][161][162]
  • On 23 February, Turkish Forces killed 6 PKK militants in clashes in Idil.[163]
  • On 24 February, the Turkish Forces killed 20 PKK militants in heavy clashes during ongoing counter-insurgency operations in Idil.[163]
  • On 24 February, Turkish Army AH-1 Super Cobra attack helicopters killed 12 PKK militants attempting to infiltrate the town of Idil from the Syrian border.[164][165][166]

March edit

  • On 2 March, the curfew in Cizre was lifted after 79 days.[167]
  • On 6 March, Released data stating that 1,250 militants had been killed since July of last year in the Nusaybin, Dargecit and Derik districts of Mardin Province. The report further more stated that over 3,000 explosives targeting security forces had been defused and 2,307 barricades and ditches were dismantled and filled.[citation needed]
  • On 6 March, 6 convicted PKK militants broke out of Diyarbakır Prison. Roll call indicated 6 where shown missing. As a result, security measures at the prison were increased and an operation to locate the whereabouts of the escapees are underway.[168][169]
  • On 7 March, Turkish troops killed 4 PKK militants in the Sur district of Diyarbakır Province and defused 16 explosive devices aimed at sabotaging troops.[170]
  • On 7 March, Turkish counter insurgency operations killed 6 PKK militants in Idil. Turkish troops defused a total of 18 explosive devices in the same operation.[170]
  • On 9 March Turkish airstrikes reportedly hit PKK shelters, ammunition depots and supply lines in northern Iraq.[171]
  • On 11 March, Turkish Air Force airstrikes reportedly killed at least 67 PKK militants in northern Iraq. Turkish F-16's and F-4E Terminator 2020s reportedly struck PKK headquarters situated on the Iran-Iraq border. i[172][173][174]
  • On 13 March, a suspected PKK car bombing in the capital Ankara killed 37 civilians and injured a further 125 when the car accelerated and crashed into a bus before exploding in one of the busiest areas in the city and just a few hundred yards from the prime ministers office. Those killed include the father of renowned soccer player Umut Bulut.[175][176] Four days later, the TAK claimed responsibility for the attack.[177]
  • On 14 March, a day after the Ankara bombing, 11 Turkish Air Force warplanes struck 18 different targets in Northern Iraq in response to the suspected PKK bombing.[178][179] At least 45 suspect PKK militants were killed.[citation needed]
  • On 16 March, Turkish police detained 73 PKK terror suspects including lawyers throughout the country during simultaneous raids in connection to the March 2016 Ankara bombing.[180]
  • On 22 March, an attack by PKK militants killed a Turkish soldier and injured 6 others in Nusaybin.[181]
  • On 23 March, Turkish Air Force F-16s and F-4 Terminator 2020s struck several PKK targets in northern Iraq and in Turkey's bordering south eastern mountains including shelters, caves, weapons caches, and militants killing at-least 24 insurgents.[182][183][184]
  • On 24 March Turkish forces killed a PKK linked YPS leader in Sirnak[185]
  • On 28 March, documents were released by the Turkish government which indicated that they have made a decision to illegally confiscate 9,000 acres of property in the historic city center of Diyarbakir, including thousands of private properties and 6 churches owned by religious foundations. The Turkish Government states that they appropriated the land and properties in the historic district in order to rebuild and repair them, although locals are skeptical of this, with the appropriations sparking more conflict in the region.[186]
  • On 29 March, Salih Zeki Cetinkaya, the chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ispir was kidnapped by PKK militants in Lice.[citation needed]
  • On 29 March, ongoing Turkish military operations killed 16 PKK militants in Nusaybin.[187]
  • On 29 March, Turkish troops killed 9 PKK militants during clashes in Sirnak.[187]
  • On 29 March, Turkish troops killed 3 PKK militants and recovered one body of a previously killed militant during clashes in Yüksekova[187]
  • On 31 March, 7 police officers were killed and 27 people were injured by a PKK car bomb in Diyarbakır after a vehicle laden with explosives rammed into a police bus and detonated.[188][189]

April edit

  • On 2 April, 5 Turkish troops and a Police Special Operations officer was killed in Nusaybin by an IED bomb planted by PKK militants.[190][191]
  • On 3 April, Turkish Forces killed seventeen militants in Yuksekova, six in Nusaybin and four in Sirnak in anti-insurgency operations bringing the total to 27.[citation needed]
  • On 4 April, a member of the paramilitary Kurdish Village guard forces whom are fighting alongside Turkish Forces against PKK insurgents, was killed by PKK militants disguised as doctors in front of a clinic in Bitlis.[192]
  • On 5 April, Turkish Air Force F-16s and F-4 Terminator 2020s attacked PKK targets in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq, targets struck include PKK weapons caches, ammunition depots & militant shelters killing 67 militants.[193][194]
  • On 5 April, a Turkish army tank en route to ongoing regional military operations traveling as a part of an armored convoy through the mountainous terrain of Uludere fell off of a cliff tumbling into a canyon below killing 1 crew member and injuring another.[195][196][197]
  • On 7 April, a Turkish soldier and Police Special Operations officer was killed by an IED bomb attack in Nusaybin during ongoing military operations to root out militants.[198]
  • On 8 April, Turkish warplanes struck unspecified targets in south eastern Turkey and northern Iraq.[199]
  • On 8 April, Turkish forces killed 12 PKK militants in military operations in the countries south-east. 7 in Nusaybin, 3 in Hakkari and 2 militants in Sirnak.[200]
  • On 10 April, the Turkish Army launched an operation in Hakkari killing 19 PKK militants in various districts. Turkish troops recovered dozens of hand made bombs, AK-47 style assault rifles, RPG-7 rockets and rocket launchers during the operation which lasted around an hour.[201][202]
  • On 12 April, a massive truck-bomb attack by PKK militants on the Hani regional Gendarmerie headquarters killed 3 Turkish soldiers and injured 54 others.[203][204][205]
  • On 12 April, during clashes between Turkish troops and PKK in Hakkari an explosion unknown and random explosion most likely from an IED bomb killed 1 soldier and injured 4 others.[206]
  • On 12 April, a gun attack by PKK militants killed 1 soldier and injured 4 others during ongoing military operations in Sirnak.[207]
  • On 13 April, Cemil Ates, a senior PKK militant leader was killed during clashes with security forces in Muş[208]
  • On 16 April, 5 Police Special Operations officers were killed and 6 others were wounded by a roadside bomb in Savur.[citation needed]
  • On 17 April, 23 PKK militants were killed in the mountains of Tunceli in a military operation by troops and attack helicopters after a Turkish UAV spotted a group of militants.[209][210]
  • On 21 April, Turkish F-16's carried out air-strikes in the mountains of Hakkari and Sirnak destroying PKK targets.[211]
  • On 22 April, 3 Turkish soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb planted by PKK militants in Tunceli.[citation needed]
  • On 22 April, Turkish forces killed 8 PKK militants in ongoing military operations in Sirnak.[212]
  • On 22 April, Turkish forces killed 4 PKK militants in ongoing military operations in Nusaybin.[212]
  • On 22 April, Turkish troops killed 18 PKK militants attempting to cross the border into Syria's Qamishli region from Turkey's south eastern Nusaybin region.[213]
  • On 22 April, Turkish troops killed 6 PKK militants in Mardin and Sirnak.[214]
  • On 23 April, a Turkish Gendarmerie soldier was killed by PKK sniper fire in Mardin.[214]
  • On 23 April, Turkish Air Force F-16's and F-4E 2020 Terminator fighter jets struck several targets in northern Iraq.[215]
  • On 28 April, two soldiers and 10 PKK members were killed in counter-terrorism operations.[216]
  • On 30 April, 20 Turkish fighter jets struck scores of PKK targets in air-raids in Northern Iraq and Sirnak's vast and mountainous border region within Turkey.[217]

May edit

  • On 1 May, 3 Turkish soldiers were killed and 14 others were wounded in the Nusaybin district when the PKK attacked an army bomb disposal team with rockets.[218]
  • On 2 May, 24 PKK militants were killed in ongoing military operations in the south-east. 7 were killed in Sirnak, 6 in Nusaybin, 6 in Cukurca and 5 in Semdinli.[219]
  • On 2 May, 18 PKK militants were killed in air-strikes by F-16 and F-4 Terminator 2020 fighter jets in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq.[219]
  • On 6 May, PKK militants killed a Turkish soldier with a missile.[220]
  • On 7 May, two PKK militants were killed in the province of Tunceli by Turkish forces.[221]
  • On 8 May, 12 PKK militants were killed in northern Iraq in air-strikes launched by Turkish Air Force F-16's. Targets also included PKK bunkers, gun emplacements and ammunition depots.[222]
  • On 12 May, 4 PKK militants and 13 civilians were killed in a premature explosion while loading a truck with heavy explosives in preparation of an attack on Turkish forces.[223][224]
  • On 13 May, 6 Turkish troops and 22 PKK militants were killed in a PKK attack in Cukurca.[225][226]
  • On 13 May, 2 Turkish pilots died in a helicopter crash caused by a PKK-fired MANPAD in the mountains of Hakkari. The attack helicopter was en route to engage PKK militants attacking Turkish troops in Cukurca.[227] Turkish media initially thought the incident was an accident.[228]
  • On 14 May, the Turkish Air Force launched a series of air-strikes killing 12 PKK militants in Turkey's southeast as well as northern Iraq.[citation needed]
  • On 15 May, the Turkish Military announced that it had killed 35 PKK militants in military operations. 18 were killed by air-strikes into the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq, 8 killed in Sirnak, 4 in Sarikamis, 3 in Yuksekova and 2 in Nusaybin.[229]
  • On 18 May, 4 Turkish soldiers were killed and 9 others were wounded when PKK militants detonated a roadside bomb in Hakkari ambushing a surpassing convoy.[230]
  • On 18 May, Turkish Air Force F-16s and F-4E Terminator 2020s launched overnight air-strikes in northern Iraq killing 10 PKK militants.[230]
  • On 22 May, 30 PKK militants were killed in Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq[231]
  • On 24 May, 6 Turkish soldiers were killed after a PPK attack on Van Province. (Daily Sabah)
  • On 25 May, YPS said it withdrew its forces in Nusaybin.[232] Also 67 PKK members surrendered in 20–25 May.[233][234] HDP states they are civilians, not PKK fighters.[citation needed]
  • On 28 May, Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech to Islamist supporters in the town of Diyarbakir which gained global attention as he referred to "our enemy", presumed to be the PKK and its supporters, as "atheists and Zoroastrians".[39][40][41]
  • On 29 May, Turkish Air Force fighter jets struck several PKK targets in northern Iraq killing at-least 14 PKK militants.[235]
  • On 30 May, 2 Police Special Operations officers were killed by a bomb trap by PKK militants in İpekyolu.[236]
  • On 31 May, the Turkish Air Force launched air strikes in northern Iraq hitting six different positions.[237]

June edit

  • On 5 June, 7 PKK militants were killed in Şemdinli during ongoing military operations.[238]
  • On 5 June, 20 PKK militants were killed in Hakkari border province and northern Iraq after a series of Turkish military air strikes. Turkish Air Force F-16's reportedly struck caves, shelters, weapons caches and other militant positions.[238][239]
  • On 5 June, the Turkish General Staff announced that it has shifted the direction of operations against PKK militants from urban centers to rural areas in the country's southeastern and eastern parts.[240]
  • On 6 June, Turkish Air Force jets launched another round of airstrikes into northern Iraq for the 2nd day in a row again hitting PKK positions and elements.[241][242]
  • On 7 June, a PKK car bomb killed 11 people including 7 police officers in Istanbul as a vehicle laden with explosives detonated as a convoy of police buses were passing through a busy street during morning rush hour. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım named the PKK as being responsible for the terrorist attack.[243] However, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks organisation took responsibility.[244][245]
  • On 8 June, another car bomb killed 5 people including 2 female police officers in the south-eastern town of Midyat. One of the police officers killed was 6 months pregnant and former Turkish president Abdullah Gül's body guard.[246][247]
  • On 11 June, the Turkish Air Force launched widespread air strikes in northern Iraq and in Turkey's Lice, Hakkari and Siirt regions killing 13 PKK militants. The strikes came after PKK movement was spotted by UAV's.[citation needed]
  • On 11 June, 3 PKK militants were killed in İpekyolu during ongoing military operations.[citation needed]
  • On 11 June, 2 Turkish army soldiers were killed while four others wounded in a PKK attack on the Tekeli military base in the Şemdinli district of southeastern province of Hakkari.[248]
  • On 14 June, a first media source said that the new Turkish government under Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım had immediately after assuming office on 24 May come to an agreement with the PKK, entailing "that PKK guerrillas must retreat from the Kurdish cities in southeastern Turkey, and the Turkish government, in return, will allow the Syrian Democratic Forces to control the areas in the west of Euphrates river in northern Syria" and that "Ankara has also agreed to move the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, from İmralı Island Prison in the Marmara Sea to another location and place him under house arrest, and resume negotiations with PKK as part of the agreement."[249] The SDF's Manbij offensive in northern Syria for the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava has been going since 1 June.
  • On 15 June, a "village guard" was killed and another was wounded in a PKK attack in the eastern province of Muş.[250]
  • On 15 June, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yüksekdağ, co-chairs of the HDP, released a statement stating that "while armed clashes have stopped in all these [urban] districts, curfews are still in effect for full days in some districts, while at night in some others" and that "Erdoğan-AKP rule is directly responsible for all this destruction and suffering. The crimes against humanity committed by them are piling up with every passing day." They demanded that "the ongoing round-the-clock curfews, blockades and destruction in Kurdish cities and towns should be immediately stopped. All the obstacles that prevent residents from safely returning to their homes should be removed."[251]
  • On 16 June, HDP co-chairman Selahattin Demirtas called on the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks to dissolve.[252]
  • On 21 June, Prime Minister and AKP chairman Binali Yıldırım declared the end of military operations in Turkey's southeast and said the government would now focus on reconstruction of cities damaged by clashes between the security forces and the PKK. However, he threatened to now take action against HDP councillors in municipalities in the southeast.[253]
  • On 22 June, 1 Turkish army soldier was killed and 2 were wounded in a PKK attack in the province of Şırnak.[254]
  • On 22 June, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that in his handling of the conflict he considered himself successful in having "civil society groups working against Turkish state largely destroyed",[255] a conclusion that had been confirmed some days earlier by Sedat Laciner, Professor of International Relations and rector of the Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University: "Outlawing unarmed and peaceful opposition, sentencing people to unfair punishment under erroneous terror accusations, will feed genuine terrorism in Erdoğan's Turkey. Guns and violence will become the sole alternative for legally expressing free thought."[256]
  • On 24 June, 6 Turkish army soldiers were killed in two separate PKK attacks in the Çukurca district of the southeastern province of Hakkari and the Derik district of the southeastern province of Mardin.[257]
  • On 25 June, Turkish warplanes conducted airstrikes against PKK targets in the southeastern province of Hakkari, with no casualties reported.[258]
  • On 26 June, Figen Yüksekdağ, co-chair of the HDP, said that "an ethnic cleansing war is being conducted against the Kurdish people. Lots of deaths and exiles have taken place; 600,000 Kurds have been forced to migrate from the lands they had been living in. But Kurds haven't abandoned their lands. Heavy weapons have been used during these sieges of provinces. For example in Nusaybin [in southern Mardin province], F-16s have been used."[259]
  • On 26 June, 2 Turkish army soldiers were killed in a PKK attack in the Lice district of the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.[260]
  • On 27 June, 1 Turkish army soldier was killed and another two were wounded in a PKK attack in the eastern province of Bitlis.[261]
  • On 29 June, 2 Turkish army soldiers were killed in two separate PKK attacks in the Lice and Bismil districts of the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.[262]
  • On 29 June, 2 Turkish army soldiers were killed and three were wounded when a hand-made explosive laid on the ground was detonated by PKK militants in the Derik district of the southeastern province of Mardin.[263]

July edit

  • On 8 July, Turkish Air Force jets launched a round of airstrikes into Qandil mountains and Şemdinli, stating that 12 PKK militants were killed.[264]
  • On 8 July, the PKK launched nine to ten simultaneous attacks in the Semdinli district and the city of Yuksekova in southeastern Turkey. The Turkish army outpost at Artuklu was leveled and 4 soldiers were killed.[265]
  • On 9 July, 2 PKK militants were killed in Ağrı.[266]
  • From 9 July to 12 July, sources in the Turkish government stated that a senior PKK figure under the name of Fehman Huseyin alias Bahoz Erdal would have been assassinated in Syria.[267] The story was initially taken up by several international media, it was however debunked when Erdal gave a radio interview on 13 July[268] and later thoroughly deconstructed as fake.[267]
  • On 10 July, one PKK militant was killed in Van Province.[269]
  • On 11 July, 4 Turkish army soldiers were killed in a PKK attack in the Şemdinli district.[270] 4 PKK militants were killed and 2 were captured in Mardin, Kızıltepe.[271]
  • On 20 July, Turkish Air Force jets launched a round of airstrikes into Northern-Iraq and killed 20 PKK militants.[272] One Village guard was killed while another 2 were wounded during a PKK attack in Şirvan district of the southeastern province of Siirt.[273]
  • On 30 July, 35 PKK militants were killed in Hakkari after military operations were launched against PKK elements in the region.[274]
  • On 31 July, 3 Turkish soldiers were killed in Ordu by a PKK attack whom were conducting military operations.[275][276]

August edit

  • On 1 August, 5 police officers were killed in Bingöl after their convoy was ambushed by a remote detonated bomb.[277][278]
  • On 11 August, Turkish Air Force fighters struck several positions in northern Iraq killing an unspecified amount of PKK militants following PKK attacks in Hakkari which killed 4 soldiers.[279]
  • On 15 August, a PKK car bomb attack on a police station near Bismil killed 6 people including 4 police officers and a child.[280]
  • On 17 August, August 2016 Van attack.A car bomb was detonated near the building by a PKK member at 23:15 in front of the Iki Nisan Police Station on Sıhke Street in the central İpekyolu District of Van.. A total of 4 people, 2 of whom were police officers, lost their lives in the attack, and 72 people, 20 of whom were police officers, were injured. The surrounding buildings were also damaged in the attack.[281]
  • On 18 August, an alleged PKK car bomb attack on a police station in Elazığ killed 7 police officers and wounded 224 people.[282]
  • On 18 August, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that his country does not differentiate between the Gulen Movement, PKK or ISIS designating them all as Terrorist organizations.[283]
  • On 21 August, a PKK militant whom was on Turkey's most wanted list was killed by a police raid in Ordu. The militant was responsible for an attack that killed 3 soldiers in Turkey's south-east.[275]
  • On 24 August, 5 Turkish soldiers were killed in PKK rocket attacks on a military outpost in Lice.[284]
  • On 25 August, an unsuccessful assassination attempt was carried out by the PKK against the Republican party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as his convoy passed through Artvin Province sparking a shoot-out between his private security detail accompanied by local police against PKK militants.[citation needed]
  • On 25 August, during Operation Euphrates Shield while Turkish forces and pro-Turkish local militia factions liberated various towns and villages from ISIS control along the Turkish border, Kurdish YPG forces, whom Turkey states is a Syrian extension of the PKK, opened fire on Turkish troops and killed a Turkish soldier. Turkish fighter jets and artillery immediately after the incident reportedly struck YPG positions killing 25 YPG militants.[285]
  • On 26 August, a PKK truck bomb attack on a security checkpoint near a police station killed 11 police officers in Cizre and damaged the police station.[286]
  • On 28 August, a roadside bomb planted by PKK militants in Siirt injured 5 Turkish soldiers.[citation needed]
  • On 28 August, a botched PKK attack resulted in heavy clashes with Turkish troops in Hakkari killing 9 PKK militants and injuring 2 Turkish soldiers.[citation needed]
  • On 29 August, four Turkish Air Force F-16s carried out airstrikes on various PKK targets in northern Iraq.[287]

September edit

  • On 1 September, 2 soldiers in Siirt and a village guard in Van were killed in PKK attacks while Turkish airstrikes killed 3 PKK militants in Cukurca.[288]
  • On 2 September, Turkish riot police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a group of protesters along the Syrian border, who demonstrated against Turkey building a wall on the Syrian border near the Kurdish-controlled Syrian town of Kobani. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights states that one child had been killed and more than 30 people injured.[289]
  • On 2 September, Turkish soldiers killed 27 PKK militants and captured a further 30 militants during ongoing military operations in Çukurca.[290]
  • On 2 September, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced that peace talks with the PKK would not restart and that military operations would continue
  • On 4 September, multiple PKK attacks and relentless military operations in conjunction in Çukurca over the past weekend killed or wounded over a 104 PKK militants and 18 soldiers.[291]
  • On 5 September, 30 PKK militants were killed in an airstrike in northern Iraq bringing the total number of PKK militants killed, wounded or captured over the past weekend to 157.[292]
  • On 9 September, the Turkish Air Force hit 3 different PKK positions in airstrikes launched into northern Iraq.[293]
  • On 9 September, 14 PKK militants were killed in Semdinli during military operations in the region.[293]
  • On 10 September, 33 PKK militants were killed in airstrikes in northern Iraq after the Turkish Air Force launched another round of bombings into the region striking 9 locations.[294][295]
  • On 10 September, the Turkish government granted the jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan a family visit to his Island prison in İmralı.[296]
  • On 10 September, Turkey announced it was swapping 28 administrations of local government municipalities in the countries south-east on having suspected links to the PKK.[citation needed]
  • On 12 September, a PKK car bomb in-front of the government municipality headquarters building in Van injured over 50 people.[297]
  • On 13 September, Dutch police announced that they would register the names of Turks and Kurds in the Netherlands who sympathize with the PKK into the national police database.[298]
  • On 14 September, Turkish air strikes in Hakkari killed 16 PKK militants.[299]
  • On 14 September, new evidence solidifying suspicions against 28 PKK linked mayors in various provinces in Turkey's southeast arose. According to the evidence, certain local counties and municipalities were providing local-government transportation and construction vehicles to PKK elements in order to transport ammunition, militants and other supplies while constructing barricades and barriers to be used against military and police targets.[300]
  • On 15 September, 7 local village guards, 2 soldiers and a civilian was killed after a security checkpoint was attacked by PKK rockets and sniper-fire in Ağrı. One of the village guards was retired having rushed to the seen after hearing about the then-ongoing attack.[301]
  • On 15 September, a civilian was killed in Nusaybin after a hidden explosive trap set by the PKK had detonated.[301]
  • On 16 September, Mehmet Ferden Çarıkçı, Turkey's permanent representative to the U.N.'s Geneva office, harshly criticized the U.N.'s report on Thursday which does not refer to the PKK as a terrorist organization, although the group is recognized as a terrorist organization by many countries including the U.S., the EU, and Turkey.[302]
  • On 16 September 11 PKK militants were killed in ongoing military operations in Hakkâri Province while a village guard in Van was killed after attempting to prevent militants from cutting off a road.[303]
  • On 16 September, Turkeys third largest political parties, the Kurdish HDP's Deputy co-chair along with 12 other members were arrested for reportedly of recruiting Kurdish youth to join the ranks of the PKK and having direct reported links with the militant organization.[304]
  • On 18 September, the Turkish military killed 3 PKK militants during ongoing counter-insurgency operations in Sirnak.[305]
  • On 19 September, the Turkish Air Force struck several targets in northern Iraq's Kirkuk Governorate destroying weapons positions and killing at-least 2 militants.[305]
  • On 22 September, a Turkish shepherd was approached and killed by PKK militants in Sirnak.[306]
  • On 26 September, 2 Turkish soldiers and 2 village guards were killed by an IED bomb in Mardin[307]
  • On 26 September 6 Turkish soldiers were killed and 2 others were wounded in Uludere by a large-scale PKK rocket attack against troops patrolling a highway.[307]
  • On 26 September, 12 PKK militants were killed Yüksekova after the Turkish military intensified combat operations in-spite of recent PKK attacks.[citation needed]
  • On 29 September, a Turkish military drone strike killed 4 PKK militants in Hakkari while Turkish Air Force jets struck several PKK shelters and weapons storages in northern Iraq during a day of widespread military aerial operations in the region.[308]
  • On 29 September, PKK militants in the border province of Hakkari opened fire upon volunteer defense militia and killed 3 village guards.[309]
  • On 30 September, 6 PKK militants were killed in Ordu during military operations.[310]

October edit

  • On 3 October, Turkish Army troops killed a total of 20 PKK militants during heavy clashes amidst ongoing counter-insurgency operations in Sirnak.[citation needed]
  • On 3 October, an IED attack on a Turkish army convoy killed 2 Turkish soldiers in Hakkari.[citation needed]
  • On 5 October, 3 PKK militants were killed in heavy clashes with Turkish forces in Cukurca.[311]
  • On 6 October, 8 PKK militants were killed in a combination of air and land operations by Turkish forces ongoing in the Hakkari and Agri regions.[311]
  • On 7 October, the bodies of 5 previously killed PKK militants were recovered from a cave in Cukurca along with weapon magazines, explosives and AK-type rifles used by the militants.[311]
  • On 8 October, Turkish forces recovered the body of an individual who had been abducted by PKK militants in a ditch on the side of a road in Sur.[312]
  • On 8 October, PKK militants executed a female militant attempting to flee the group.[313]
  • On 9 October, a PKK truck bomb attack on a Turkish Gendarmerie outpost in Hakkari killed 18 people including 10 Turkish soldiers and eight civilians.[314]
  • On 9 October, the Turkish Army killed 8 PKK militants during a raid on a PKK weapons and munitions depot in Cukurca.[315]
  • On 10 October, Turkish police foiled a suicide bombing plot in the nation's capital, Ankara; the standoff ended with the militants detonating explosives during a police raid which only resulted in the death of the PKK militants[316]
  • On 11 October, a Turkish army T-129 attack helicopter neutralized a vehicle rigged with explosives used by PKK as a car-bomb before it could ram into and detonate at nearby troops in Lice[311]
  • On 11 October, during ongoing military operations across Turkey's south-east 20 tons of Ammonium nitrate intended for explosives use was captured in Sur, hundreds of AK magazines were captured in Batman along with explosives, and over a thousand of varying rifle magazines and rocket munitions were captured in Cukurca.[311]
  • On 12 October, 9 PKK militants were killed in Cukurca by a Turkish military drone strike.[311][317]
  • On 13 October, 5 PKK militants were killed in northern Iraq by Turkish Army artillery strikes.[311]
  • On 13 October, Turkish Air Force F-16's struck PKK shelters in northern Iraq.[318]
  • On 15 October, multiple shelters and caves used by the PKK were destroyed during by Turkish military operations in Sirnak, Cukurca and Bitlis.[311]
  • On 17 October, 10 PKK militants were killed in Tunceli by a Turkish military airstrike during ongoing counter insurgency operations in the region.[319]
  • On 18 October, 4 PKK militants were killed by Turkish army operations in Cukurca.[311]
  • On 19 October, Turkish fighter jets struck PKK shelters in Hakkari on the mountainous Turkish-Iraq border.[citation needed]
  • On 20 October, between 9:11 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. the Turkish Air Force conducted a massive aerial operation against PKK-linked Kurdish YPG targets in Syria's Aleppo province.[320] The SOHR reported 14 militants have died due to the airstrikes.[321] Turkey has previously militarily threatened the YPG and said it that Turkey wouldn't permit a terror corridor to be established at its southern border.[322]
  • On 20 October, 26 PKK militants and 2 Turkish soldiers were killed in Hakkari during Turkish army counter-insurgency operations.[311][323]
  • On 21 October, 12 PKK militants in Hakkari were killed by Turkish troops during ongoing military operations to root out the separatist militant organization.[324]
  • On 21 October, 6 PKK militants in northern Iraq were killed by Turkish air-strikes.[324]
  • On 21 October, about 100 rockets were fired by the Turkish army into regions of Syria held by the YPG striking several targets.[325]
  • On 23 October, 7 PKK militants were killed by the Turkish armed forces in Tunceli during counter-insurgency operations.
  • On 24 October, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in a meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault assured the public with a statement that Turkey would begin to more actively fight the PKK in Iraq in addition the insurgency in the nations south-east.[326]
  • On 24 October, 7 PKK militants were killed in Turkish army operations in Cukurca.[327]
  • On 25 October, the co mayors of Diyarbakır, Gültan Kışanak and Firhat Anlı, were arrested.

November edit

  • On 2 November, 6 PKK militants surrendered to Turkish forces in Silopi.[311]
  • On 3 November, Turkish military operations killed 5 PKK militants, two in Bitlis, two in northern Iraq and one in Lice.[311]
  • On 4 November, at least nine people were killed and more than 100 injured in a car bomb attack outside the police headquarters in central Diyarbakır. The governor of Diyarbakır Province, Cahit Kıraç, said the Kurdistan Workers' Party had claimed responsibility. The bombing took place just hours after the arrests of pro-Kurdish HDP leaders, Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ whom are said by the Turkish government to have ties to the outlawed PKK organization.[328]
  • On 4 November, 14 PKK militants were killed in widespread Turkish military operations, seven in Sirnak, three in Hakkari, three in northern Iraq, and one in Lice while a separate militant surrendered in Nusaybin.[311]
  • On 5 November, 17 PKK militants in ongoing Turkish military operations were killed, 14 in Sirnak and 3 in Hakkari.[311]
  • On 20 November, 12 PKK militants were killed in by a Turkish military drone strike in Daglica.[329]
  • On 29 November, Security forces killed at least 10 PKK insurgents in Şırnak.[330]

December edit

  • On 2 December, a military operation left 3 soldiers dead and another 3 were wounded in Hakkâri Province, Turkey. 20 PKK militants were killed or captured as well during the operation.[331]
  • On 10 December, a twin PKK-linked suicide bombing attack in Istanbul against riot police maintaining security for a Besiktas soccer game killed 36 police officers and 8 civilians. Following the attack hundreds of suspects were arrested including dozens of pro-Kurdish HDP party members.[332]
  • A Turkish fighter jet crashed near an airport in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakır on 12 Dec., the military said, but the pilot was able to safely eject from the plane. According to a government spokesman the plane had fallen due to a possible technical malfunction.[333] Also PKK militants took responsibility for the downed Turkish jet.[334]
  • On 17 December a PKK-linked group carried out another attack in Kayseri using a car bomb to ram a public bus full of off-duty paratrooper commandos killed 14 troops.

2017 timeline[335] edit

January edit

  • On 5 January, a shootout in İzmir kills two gunmen. During the shootout a car bomb explodes, killing a police officer and court employee. Veysi Kaynak states that the discovery of more weapons on the scene suggests that a larger attack was foiled. Provincial governor Erol Ayyıldız blames the attack on the PKK.[336]
  • On 13 and 14 January, at least 57 PKK fighters were killed and scores of others injured in Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement. Although, it could not be independently verified.[337]
  • Crisis group puts overall casualties at 30 people killed, including 16 PKK militants, 11 security personnel and 3 civilians for the month of January.[335]

February edit

  • Overall, 31 people died, including 27 PKK militants and 4 civilians.[335]

March edit

  • On 9 March, 19 PKK fighters and one Turkish soldier were killed in military operations in southeastern Diyarbakir and eastern Bingol provinces that was launched by Turkey on 5 March.[338]

Overall, 92 people died, including 82 PKK militants 8 security forces personnel and 2 civilians.

April edit

  • On 24 April, 90 YPG, Jezidi-YBŞ and Peshmerga fighters were killed in an air raid conducted by the Turkish Air Force against targets in Syria, and Iraq. Turkish authorities state YPG militants are directly affiliated with the PKK.[339]
  • On 29 April, 45 PKK militants were killed in airstrikes by the Turkish Air Force against militant targets in Iraq.[340]
  • Overall, 108 people died, including 84 PKK militants 23 security forces personnel and one civilian.

May edit

  • Overall, 64 people died, including 41 PKK militants 21 security forces personnel and two civilians.

June edit

  • Overall, 90 people died, including 61 PKK militants 28 security forces personnel and one civilian.

July edit

  • Overall, 96 people died, including 74 PKK militants 12 security forces personnel and 10 civilians.

August edit

  • Overall, 67 people died, including 44 PKK militants 14 security forces personnel and 9 civilians.

September edit

  • Overall, 102 people died, including 79 PKK militants 12 security forces personnel and 11 civilians.

October edit

  • Overall, 48 people died, including 25 PKK militants 17 security forces personnel and 6 civilians.

November edit

  • Overall, 77 people died, including 61 PKK militants 14 security forces personnel and 2 civilians.

December edit

  • Overall, 26 people died, including 22 PKK militants 4 security forces personnel.

2018 timeline[335] edit

January edit

Further information: Turkish military intervention in Afrin and Turkish occupation of northern Syria
 
Protest in London against Turkish military operation in Afrin, 31 March 2018

February edit

  • Overall, 17 people were killed, including 10 PKK militants and 7 security personnel.[335]

March edit

  • Overall, 81 people were killed, including 61 PKK militants, 18 security personnel and two civilians.

April edit

  • Overall, 63 people were killed, including 46 PKK militants, 16 security personnel and one civilian.

May edit

  • Overall, 40 people were killed, including 27 PKK militants, 11 security personnel and two civilians.

June edit

  • Overall, 95 people were killed, including 71 PKK militants, 23 security personnel and one civilian.

July edit

  • Overall, 93 people were killed, including 82 PKK militants, 7 security personnel and four civilians.

August edit

Overall, 72 people were killed, including 58 PKK militants, 12 security personnel and two civilians.[335]

September edit

  • Overall, 56 people were killed, including 50 PKK militants, 4 security personnel and two civilians.
 
SDF-controlled territory (green) and Turkish-occupied territory (red) in December 2018

October edit

Overall, 30 people were killed, including 15 PKK militants, 13 security personnel and two civilians.

November edit

  • On 1 November, US officials confirmed that US and Turkish military forces had conducted two joint patrols on the outskirts of Manbij, Syria, which is held by the Manbij Military Council (MMC). MMC reported that YPG-aligned militants left the city.[348]
  • Overall, 45 people were killed, including 34 PKK militants, 10 security personnel and one civilians.[citation needed]

December edit

  • Turkey has amassed troops and tanks on the outskirts of Manbij, announcing an intention to drive out the PKK from that city. On 24 December, US President Donald Trump announced that he would order the withdrawal of the approximately 2,000 US service members on the ground in Syria in support of the YPG campaign against ISIS. On 28 December, YPG tweeted an invitation to Syrian Arab Army (SAA) to enter SDF-held territory around Manbij, for the purpose of countering an anticipated invasion by Turkish-backed forces, in the absence of US support.[349] The SAA has moved into the SDF front lines facing Turkish-held areas to the east of Manbij. US, French and British forces are still present in the front lines to the north of the city.[350]

2019 timeline edit

January edit

  • On 4 January 2019, one Turkish soldier was killed, and one PKK militant was 'neutralized' (wounded/killed/captured), and two others were injured in an attack which took place near Emince village of Aralik district, located in Igdir province bordering Iran, according to Hurriyet Daily News and Anadolu Agency.[351]
  • On 23 January 2019, the PKK reportedly kidnapped four people, who crossed the Sarzeri border crossing in Duhok province. Because of this, Turkey decided to close the border gate.[352] 13 days later, the border gate was reopened.[353]
  • On 24 January 2019, the Turkish Armed Forces conducted airstrikes against the PKK in the region of Sheladiz village, Dohuk province. According to Kurdistan24, four civilians were killed in the strikes, whereas Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish Foreign Minister said that the strikes were 'successful', and PKK got disturbed.[354][355] Locals protested against both the Turkish military and the PKK, demanding to move their fight elsewhere, and attacked a Turkish military base, which resulted in the death of two (according to New Generation Movement, one protester(s), and in the injury of several more, as well as partial damage to some equipment and vehicles in the base. Cavusoglu said, "They [the PKK] are disturbed by these. They started provoking local people. We know that there is PKK behind this". He stated he had a telephone conversation with Nechirvan Barzani Nechirvan Barzani late Saturday.
  • The KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) expressed concerns over the protests. They stated there is 'a disruptive hand' behind the events.[356]
  • The Iraqi Foreign Ministry condemned the Turkish forces 'opening fire' on the protesters, and summoned Turkey's ambassador to Baghdad. However, the Foreign Ministry also condemned "the use of its territory to threaten the security and safety of any neighboring country."[357]
  • The Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar said: 'Since they [PKK terrorists] realized that they cannot fight against Turkish soldiers, they try to provoke the innocent locals'. He also stated 'Our effective operations will continue without interruption. All these provocations will be defeated and we will clear the area off terrorists'.[358]
  • An NRT News team was arrested by KRG authorities, when they were filming in front of the Dohuk Emergency Hospital to report on the condition of the injured protesters, and several other NRT staff was arrested as well. They were all released later.[359]

March edit

  • On 16 March 2019, two Turkish soldiers were killed and eight more were wounded after an assault. Turkey stated that six PKK fighters were neutralized during the incident.[360] On 20 March 2019, one Turkish soldier was killed in the southeastern part of Sirnak province by an IED while carrying out a search operation. Another soldier was wounded because of the explosion.[361]

April edit

  • On 19 April 2019, four Turkish soldiers were killed, and six were wounded near Iraqi Kurdistan's border. The Turkish Defense Ministry said they were working 'to determine' whether there were Kurdish casualties.[362]
  • On the same day, and on 20 April 2019, Turkish police used violence against Kurdish mothers protesting in solidarity with political prisoners in Kocaeli and in Turkey's Mardin province. Lawmakers in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Sezgin Tanrıkulu and Gursel Tekin expressed their concerns about the event in Kocaeli.[363]
  • On 26 April 2019, five PKK militants were neutralized in Diyarbakir's Lice region.[364]
  • On 29 April 2019, Turkish jets bombarded the Kurdistan Region's Chamanke district in Duhok province. No human casualties were reported.[365]
  • On 30 April 2019, five PKK militants were neutralized in Siirt.[366]

May edit

  • On 1 May 2019, five PKK militants were killed in the Amanos mountains in Hatay province.[367]
  • On 4 May 2019, three Turkish soldiers were killed after a PKK mortar attack in the Sherwan Mazin region in Erbil Province. After the attack, gunfire was heard in the area, and Turkish gunships began to target suspected elements of PKK. The heaviest clashes occurred around Chama village. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said 23 PKK militants were killed in the pursuit.[368]
  • On 20 May 2019, it was reported that the Turkish forces have been locked in days of clashes in the Sidekan area of Erbil Governorate. Neither side has disclosed casualty figures yet.[369]
  • On 27 May 2019, Turkish Armed Forces launched a counter-terrorism operation, Operation Claw (2019–2020) in northern Iraq to destroy caves and shelters used by PKK militants.[370]
  • Overall, 69 people died in the month of May; 49 PKK militants, 17 security forces and 3 civilians.[335]

June edit

  • Overall, 91 people died, including 70 PKK militants, 15 security forces and 6 civilians.[335]

July edit

  • Overall, 97 people died, including 80 PKK militants, 13 security forces and 4 civilians.[335]

August edit

  • Overall, 53 people died, including 38 PKK militants, 13 security forces and 2 civilians.[335]
  • On 19 August, the mayors of the cities Mardin, Ahmet Türk, Diyarbakir, Adnan Selçuk Mizrakli, and Van, Bedia Özgökçe Ertan, all three from the HDP, where dismissed by the Turkish Government. The same day also hundreds of HDP politicians and members were detained.[371]

September edit

  • Overall, 70 people died, including 51 PKK militants, 9 security forces and 10 civilians.[335]

October edit

November edit

  • 21 PKK militants were killed in November.[335]

December edit

  • Overall, 8 people died, including 3 PKK militants, 4 security forces and 1 civilian.[335]

2020 timeline edit

January edit

Overall, 7 people died, including 2 PKK militants and 5 security forces.[335]

February edit

Overall, 5 people died, including 4 PKK militants and 1 civilian.[335]

March edit

Overall, 9 people died, including 5 PKK militants, 2 security forces and 2 civilians.[335]

April edit

Overall, 19 people died, including 11 PKK militants, 2 security forces and 6 civilians.[335]

May edit

Overall, 39 people died, including 29 PKK militants, 5 security forces and 5 civilians.[335]

June edit

Overall, 54 people died, including 46 PKK militants, 4 security forces and 4 civilians.[335]

July edit

Overall, 41 people died, including 33 PKK militants, 6 security forces and 2 civilians.[335]

August edit

Overall, 53 people died, including 44 PKK militants, 7 security forces and 2 civilians.[335]

September edit

Overall, 39 people died, including 31 PKK militants, 7 security forces and 1 civilian.[335]

October edit

On 26 October, two PKK militants ambushed the police in İskenderun and one of them detonated the bombs on him, injuring 1 police officer and 2 civilians.[372][373]

Overall, 12 people died, including 7 PKK militants, 2 security forces and 3 civilians.[335]

November edit

Overall, 9 people died, including 3 PKK militants, 1 security force and 5 civilians.[335]

2021 timeline edit

January edit

February edit

Main article: Operation Claw-Eagle 2

March edit

April edit

  • On 23 April 2021, Turkey launched a ground, air operation in northern Iraq. Targets located in Qandil, Zap, Gara and Avaşin-Basyan were destroyed by the Turkish Air Force and artillery tasked by the Turkish Army.[406][407]

May edit

  • On 3 May 2021, Turkish Ministry of Defence announced the neutralization of 7 PKK militants. This has made the total loss of PKK throughout the Operation Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt 53. According to the Turkish officials sixteen weapons and 3,000 ammunition have also been confiscated from the PKK militants and depots.[408]
  • On 12 May 2021, Turkish Ministry of Defence announced the neutralization of 5 PKK militants during an air strike.[409]

September edit

On September 11, a Turkish soldier was killed and another was injured during a PKK attack on a Turkish military vehicle in the 'Operation Pence-Simsek' zone.[410]

2022 timeline edit

April edit

May edit

  • On 17 May, in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sweden's foreign minister signed Sweden's application to join NATO, following Finland's earlier intention to join NATO. On 18 May 2022, both countries formally applied to join NATO. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan voiced his opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, saying that it would be "impossible" for Turkey to support their application while the two countries allow groups which Turkey classifies as terrorist organizations, including the Kurdish militant groups Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and People's Defense Units (YPG) and the supporters of Fethullah Gülen, a US-based Muslim cleric accused by Turkey of orchestrating a failed 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, to operate on their territory.[413][414][415]

June edit

  • On June 12, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the Turkish government has "legitimate concerns" over agreeing to admit Sweden and Finland into NATO. “These are legitimate concerns, this is about terrorism, it's about weapons exports,” said Stoltenberg alongside Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. “We have to remember and understand that no NATO ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey.” [32]

2023 timeline edit

February edit

  • On 1 February, attackers fired eight rockets at a Turkish military base in northern Iraq, with two of them landing inside.[416]

April edit

  • On 7 April, Iraq demanded an apology from Turkey after an apparent drone strike near an airport in Sulaymaniyah. US military officials claimed the strike was aimed at a convoy carrying American personnel. No casualties were reported from the incident.[417]
  • On 15 April, two PKK fighters were killed and two others were wounded when a Turkish drone struck their vehicle near the Iranian border.[418]

July edit

  • On 9 July, two Turkish soldiers were killed by PKK militants in northern Iraq.[419]
  • On 10 July, Kurdish militants attacked Turkish-backed fighters south of Afrin, killing five of them.[420]
  • On 29 July, two Turkish airstrikes killed eight Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria.[421]

August edit

  • On 10 August, Turkey’s defense ministry announced that six Turkish soldiers were killed by Kurdish militants in fighting that started the previous day. Turkey responded with airstrikes that killed four PKK members.[422]
  • On 11 August, a Turkish drone strike in northern Iraq killed three PKK members, including a senior official.[423]
  • On 24 August, Turkish drone attacks in northern Iraq killed seven people, including a PKK official.[424]

September edit

  • On 15 September, two fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces were killed in a Turkish drone strike and two others were wounded.[425]
  • On 16 September, a drone fired from the Turkish border struck a military airport in Arbid, killing three members of Iraq’s counter-terrorism service and wounding three others.[426]
  • On 18 September, the Syrian Democratic Forces carried out an attack on a Turkish-backed opposition group in northern Syria, killing 13 militants.[427]

October edit

  • On 1 October, a PKK attacker blew himself up outside the Ministry of the Interior in Ankara, while a second attacker was killed by police.[428] Two police officers were injured during the incident.[428] In response Turkey carried out air strikes against 20 Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq.[428]
  • On October 3, police raids took place in 64 provinces of Turkey. According to Minister of the Interior Ali Yerlikaya's reports, 928 people were detained, of which at least 90 are allegedly associated with the PKK.[429][430]
  • On 5 October, at least 11 people were killed in Turkish airstrikes in Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria, including five civilians.[431]
  • On 7 October, Turkish forces killed 58 Kurdish militants in overnight attacks.[432]
  • On 25 October, ten PKK militants were killed by Turkish drone strikes in northern Iraq.[433]

November edit

  • On 4 November, Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish military infrastructure killed 15 militants.[434]
  • On 17 November, Turkey’s defense ministry announced that it carried out airstrikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, killing 13 of them.[435]

December edit

  • 11 December
  • On 22 December, a PKK infiltration attempt of 1st Hakkari Mountain Commando Brigade base left six dead and six wounded Turkish soldiers.[438]
  • 23 December
    • 5 PKK militants were killed by Turkish commandos while preparing for an attack in Euphrates Shield region.[439]
    • Six Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdish militants.[440]
  • 25 December
    • The Turkish defense ministry said it killed at least 26 Kurdish militants throughout Iraq and Syria during an escalation of airstrikes in retaliation for the deaths of 12 Turkish soldiers during the weekend.[440]
    • At least eight civilians were killed by Turkish airstrikes in northeastern Syria.[440]

2024 timeline edit

January edit

  • 13 January
    • 9 Turkish soldiers were killed and 8 wounded after infiltration attempt to base in Zab by PKK militants.[441]

February edit

  • On 25 February, a Turkish military drone strike killed 4 PKK militants in Gara, Northern Iraq.[442]

March edit

  • On 16 March, 2 PKK militants were killed in northern Iraq.[443]
  • On 25 March, Turkish airstrikes on Northern Iraq killed 2 PKK militants.[444]

April edit

  • On 24 April, Turkish airstrikes on Northern Iraq killed 6 PKK militants.[445]

Impact edit

Civilian impact edit

 
Cizre ruins in March 2016
 
Protest in London, 31 March 2018

According to Turkish Human Rights Foundation, there have been 52 intermittent curfews in seven predominantly Kurdish towns where 1.3 million people live, sometimes lasting as long as 14 days. The organization puts the civilian death toll since the summer of 2015 at 124.[446] The situation in the South-East has little coverage in the Turkish media. The authorities have enforced a blockade over the region and have shut down both cell phone coverage and the internet. Hundreds of houses, dozens of schools and official buildings have been damaged by artillery and gun fire from militants,[447] and civilians have been reportedly fired at. Turkish Forces have used measures like tank fire to clear out bomb-trapped barricades which lead to damage of residential buildings.[448] It is estimated that more than 200,000 people have been displaced. According to the HRW, civilian death toll is around 100. Diyarbakir branch of the Human Rights Association said Turkish Armed Forces and Gendarmerie was targeting civilians under the pretext of fighting terrorism.[449] Many residents in the southeastern cities have been trapped without food or electricity as clashes between Kurdish militants and Turkish security forces have intensified. In December 2015, town of Cizre, was under curfew for more than two weeks, with mounting civilian casualties. According to a teacher from the district of Silopi, some residential buildings were damaged by tank shells.[450]

Internal reactions edit

Academics petition edit

Main article: Academics for Peace

On 11 January 2016, more than 1000 scholars and academics from 90 Turkish Universities and abroad signed a petition entitled "We won't be a party to this crime,"[451] calling for an end to the government's crackdown on the Kurdish activists and politicians, and a resumption of the peace process. They also criticized the use of tanks in urban centers calling it a deliberate massacre of Kurdish people.[452] On 12 January, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sharply criticized the dissident academics which included David Harvey, Immanuel Wallerstein, Slavoj Žižek and Noam Chomsky and said they were from the fifth column of foreign powers.[453] He also called on the Turkish judiciary to move against the "treachery". All 1,228 Turkish signatories were subsequently placed under investigation.[451] Erdoğan invited Chomsky to visit the area in a televised speech to a conference of Turkish ambassadors in Ankara. However Chomsky rejected the offer and said: "If I decide to go to Turkey, it will not be on his invitation, but as frequently before at the invitation of the many courageous dissidents, including Kurds who have been under severe attack for many years." He also said Erdoğan was aiding ISIS and the al-Nusra Front.[454] On 14 January, the Düzce University in northwest Turkey dismissed an associate sociology professor after she signed the declaration and on 15 January Erdoğan attacked the signatories again, said they were supporting the Kurdish militants and said " having a PhD title doesn't necessarily make you an intellectual. These are people in the dark. They are cruel and despicable."[455] That same day, Turkish authorities arrested 14 signatories, including 12 academics from Kocaeli University, said they were spreading "terrorism propaganda" and of insulting the state.[456] U.S. Ambassador John Bass released a statement expressing his concern regarding the arrests. He also said "Expressions of concern about violence do not equal support for terrorism. Criticism of government does not equal treason."[457] On 16 January, main opposition leader Kemal Killicdaroglu sharply criticized Erdoğan over detention of dissident academics and called him a dictator. Two days later, lawyers for Turkish President filed a lawsuit against him and a prosecutor from the Ankara prosecutors' office also launched an investigation into his comments on charges of "openly insulting the president", a crime punishable by up to four years in jail.[458][459]

Resignation of UNESCO Ambassador edit

On 25 May 2016, Turkish author and poet Zülfü Livaneli resigned as Turkey's only UNESCO goodwill ambassador. In his post on Twitter, he said "UNESCO's silence on human rights violations and lack of fundamental freedoms." and he also refused to take part in the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul. He highlighted destruction of the historical Sur district of Diyarbakir as his main reason for resignation.[460]

When [Kurdish region] Sur's historical heritage is being destroyed, I can't with a straight face urge people to protect the historical heritage of Istanbul

Protests in New York edit

On 31 March 2016, during a public speech by Erdoğan at the Brookings Institution, his supporters and opponents clashed outside the venue. His security guards assaulted Brooking's employees and ordered a well-known Turkish journalist, Amberin Zaman, to leave, calling her a "P.K.K. whore". Security staff members had to stop the guards from removing other journalists from inside the auditorium. Some Turkish guards were restrained by police officers.[461] National Press Club released a statement and expressed alarm at the events.[462]

Turkey's leader and his security team are guests in the United States. They have no right to lay their hands on reporters or protesters or anyone else for that matter, when the people they are apparently roughing up seemed to be merely doing their jobs or exercising the rights they have in this country.

U.S. State Department 2016 Human Rights Report edit

According to the report, in February 2016, Turkish security forces killed at least 130 people, including unarmed civilians, who had taken shelter in the basements of three buildings in the town of Cizre. A domestic NGO, The Human Rights Association (HRA), said the security forces killed more than 300 civilians in the first eight months of 2016. It also reported retrieval of 171 bodies from three basements in Cizre after 5 February. The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRF), reported that during the 79 day curfew in Cizre, close to 200 people were killed. On 3 March 2016, HRF's president, Șebnem Korur Fincanci, found a human jawbone in the remains of a basement in the Sur district of Diyarbakir, where according to HRA seven people were killed in February 2016.[463]

International reactions edit

Respect for human rights has deteriorated at an alarming speed in recent months in the context of Turkey's fight against terrorism.

 
Protest in Berlin against Turkey's military offensive on 10 October 2019

There is a need to restart the Kurdish peace process. The European Union recognizes that PKK is a terrorist organization, but there is a need to re-engage from the Turkish authorities' side with the Kurdish political representatives and the ones that express their position in a peaceful way.

The European Parliament has been highly critical with respect to human rights abuses and denial of political dialogue with respect to the Kurdish issue under the cloak of fight against terrorism in Turkey.[464][467][468] The institutions of the European Union have persistently criticized the broad application of anti-terror legislation as well as a criminal law against "denigrating Turkishness" in Turkey as stifling peaceful advocacy for Kurdish rights.[469][470]

  •   Germany - On 19 January 2016, German Ambassador to Turkey Martin Erdmann has voiced Berlin's unconditional support to Ankara's ongoing fight against the outlawed Kurdistan workers' Party (PKK), while underlining that "a final and permanent solution" to the Kurdish issue could only be found on political grounds. The Ambassador quoted:

Fighting against the PKK and defending itself against the PKK is Turkey's most natural right. However, according to the German federal government's conviction, this problem can reach a final and permanent result only on a political platform.

Conflict in Turkey's south-east has often reflected on Germany's Turkish and Kurdish minorities causing mass riots and the build up of ethnic tensions within Germany.[471]

Joint press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Turkish minister of foreign affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, 11 October 2019
  •   NATO - On 7 July 2015, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed solidarity with Turkey after an emergency session of the military alliance's 28 ambassadors in Brussels. Stoltenberg also expressed NATO is watching the developments "very closely".[472] In October 2019, Turkey invaded the Kurdish areas in Syria. Stoltenberg said that Turkey has "legitimate security concerns" during press conference with Turkish FM Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.[473]
  •   Netherlands - On 13 September 2016, Dutch police announced that they would register supports and sympathizers of the PKK into the national police database.[298]
  •   Russia - Russia has frequently said Turkish statements of Russian support to the PKK were not true, and called on Turkey to politically solve its "Kurdistan Issue", for example in this quote of the Russian Foreign Ministry on 5 June 2016:[474]

We understand that it is difficult for current Turkish leadership to abandon attempts to explain their domestic problems by certain external factors. With the civil conflict with the Kurdish population unremitting, President Erdogan has not found a better justification for toughening the punitive operations in the [Kurdish-populated] southeast than to accuse Russia of supplying arms to the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

  •   United Kingdom - On 14 January 2016, the British Ambassador to Turkey issued a statement on the behalf of the British government condemning the PKK, while calling on the militant organization to halt its attacks against Turkey. The Ambassador stated:[475]

Let me emphasize that we condemn PKK terrorism absolutely. But we don't just make statements – we are also actively clamping down on PKK financing in the U.K., and doing our utmost to disrupt their international network and operations.

  •   United Nations - In May 2016, the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein raised an alarm over violence against civilians and reported human rights abuses in predominantly Kurdish south-east Turkey.[476] He also raised concern over the Turkish government's refusal to allow a UN team to conduct research in the area amid reports that more than a hundred people had burned to death in buildings surrounded by security forces.[476] The Commissioner stated:

"More and more information has been emerging from a variety of credible sources about the actions of security forces in the town of Cizre during the extended curfew there from mid-December until early March," he said in a press release. "Most disturbing of all are the reports quoting witnesses and relatives in Cizre which suggest that more than 100 people were burned to death as they sheltered in three different basements that had been surrounded by security forces."

However, the Turkish foreign ministry offered an open invitation to U.N. agencies to visit the country's southeastern provinces after the reports were made and refuted those statements, saying they were "based on insufficient information".[477] According to the UN Commissioner, unarmed civilians, including women and children, were shot by government snipers in the south-east during the clashes and Turkish forces also inflicted significant damage on the local infrastructure.[478] Turkish sources, whose reports were confirmed by the Turkey's foreign ministry had said in late 2015 that the PKK were hiring foreign national snipers to target civilians and high ranking Military personnel in the same region.[479]

See also edit

References edit

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January 01, 1970
timeline, kurdistan, workers, party, insurgency, 2015, present, late, july, 2015, third, phase, kurdish, turkish, conflict, between, various, kurdish, insurgent, groups, turkish, government, erupted, following, failed, half, year, long, peace, process, aimed, . In late July 2015 the third phase of the Kurdish Turkish conflict between various Kurdish insurgent groups and the Turkish government erupted following a failed two and a half year long peace process aimed at resolving the long running conflict Kurdish Turkish conflict 2015 present Part of the Kurdish Turkish conflict and the Spillover of the Syrian civil warDate24 July 2015 present 8 years 9 months and 3 days LocationEastern and Southeastern Turkey Northern Syria Northern Iraq For a map see hereStatusOngoing Uprising suppressed in Turkey Start of Turkish major intervention in Syria against YPG militants Belligerents TurkeyKurdistan Communities Union KCK PKK HPG YJA STAR PYD YPG YPJ PFLK YDG H CPU YPS Jin PURM Kurdistan Freedom HawksCommanders and leadersRecep Tayyip Erdogan Yasar Guler since 10 July 2018 Hulusi Akar from 18 August 2015 to 10 July 2018 Necdet Ozel until 18 August 2015 Mirad Qarayilan Bahoz Erdal Cemil Bayik Hulya Eroglu 1 senior council member Ayfer Kordu 2 senior council member Units involvedTurkish Armed Forces Land Forces Special Forces Gendarmerie JOH JITEM Air Force Turkish National Police POH Village Guards Other forces Grey Wolves 3 PKK KCK HPG YJA STAR PJAK YDG H YPS YPS Jin since 2016 HBDHStrengthAround 10 000 Turkish police and military personnel 4 360 000 active military personnel 5 244 000 Police forces 6 7 2015 figures of which not all are directly involved 233 000 Security Guards 6 54 000 Village Guards 8 4 000 33 000 9 10 Less than 180 left inside Turkey per Turkey s Ministry of the Internal Affairs 11 Casualties and losses1 454 security forces killed per the Crisis Group 12 1 129 security forces killed per Turkey as of Sept 2020 13 7 000 9 000 security forces killed per PKK as of Jan 2017 14 15 16 17 8330 PKK And Yps in Cizre militants killed per the Crisis Group 12 27 584 militants killed or captured per Turkey includes Syrian civil war and North Iraq Turkey Pkk conflict 18 1 181 militants killed per PKK as of Jan 2017 14 15 17 614 civilians killed per the Crisis Group 12 226 unidentified killed civilians or militants per the Crisis Group 12 6 535 civilians killed per Turkey 19 500 1 000 civilians killed per HDP 20 2 000 killed in total per UN as of March 2017 21 500 000 displaced per the Crisis Group 22 The conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers Party PKK broke out again in summer 2015 following two year long peace negotiations These began in late 2012 but failed to progress in light of the growing tensions on the Turkish Syrian border in late 2014 when the Turkish state prevented its Kurdish citizens from sending support to the People s Protection Units YPG who were fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL during the Siege of Kobani Turkey was accused of assisting the Islamic State during the siege 23 better source needed resulting in the widespread 2014 Kurdish riots in Turkey involving dozens of fatalities In November 2015 Turkish authorities said that a number of towns and areas in the Eastern Anatolia Region had come under the control of PKK militants and affiliated armed organizations According to Turkish government sources between July 2015 and May 2016 2 583 Kurdish insurgents were killed in Turkey and 2 366 in Iraq as well as 483 members of the Turkish security forces 24 The PKK said 1 557 Turkish security forces members were killed in 2015 during the clashes in Turkish and Iraqi Kurdistan while it lost 220 fighters 25 According to the International Crisis Group 4 310 people including 465 civilians were killed in Turkey between July 2015 and December 2018 12 including Kurdish lawyer Tahir Elci 26 In March 2017 the United Nations voiced concern over the Turkish government s operations and called for an independent assessment of the massive destruction killings and numerous other serious human rights violations against the ethnic Kurdish minority 27 Since 2016 the Turkish military and Syrian National Army have conducted operations against the Syrian Democratic Forces leading to the Turkish occupation of northern Syria 28 29 30 31 In May 2022 the conflict gained global geopolitical significance as Turkey opposed the accession of Finland and Sweden into NATO accusing them of supporting the PKK 32 Contents 1 Background 2 Belligerents 2 1 Turkish military and affiliates 2 2 PKK and affiliates 3 2015 timeline 3 1 July 3 1 1 Suruc bombing and suspected Turkish ISIL retaliations 3 1 2 Operation Martyr Yalcin against PKK 3 1 3 Operations Arslan Kulaksiz and Hamza Yildirim 3 2 August 3 3 September 3 4 October 3 5 November 3 6 December 4 2016 timeline 4 1 January 4 2 February 4 3 March 4 4 April 4 5 May 4 6 June 4 7 July 4 8 August 4 9 September 4 10 October 4 11 November 4 12 December 5 2017 timeline 335 5 1 January 5 2 February 5 3 March 5 4 April 5 5 May 5 6 June 5 7 July 5 8 August 5 9 September 5 10 October 5 11 November 5 12 December 6 2018 timeline 335 6 1 January 6 2 February 6 3 March 6 4 April 6 5 May 6 6 June 6 7 July 6 8 August 6 9 September 6 10 October 6 11 November 6 12 December 7 2019 timeline 7 1 January 7 2 March 7 3 April 7 4 May 7 5 June 7 6 July 7 7 August 7 8 September 7 9 October 7 10 November 7 11 December 8 2020 timeline 8 1 January 8 2 February 8 3 March 8 4 April 8 5 May 8 6 June 8 7 July 8 8 August 8 9 September 8 10 October 8 11 November 9 2021 timeline 9 1 January 9 2 February 9 3 March 9 4 April 9 5 May 9 6 September 10 2022 timeline 10 1 April 10 2 May 10 3 June 11 2023 timeline 11 1 February 11 2 April 11 3 July 11 4 August 11 5 September 11 6 October 11 7 November 11 8 December 12 2024 timeline 12 1 January 12 2 February 12 3 March 12 4 April 13 Impact 13 1 Civilian impact 13 2 Internal reactions 13 2 1 Academics petition 13 2 2 Resignation of UNESCO Ambassador 13 3 Protests in New York 13 4 U S State Department 2016 Human Rights Report 14 International reactions 15 See also 16 References 16 1 BibliographyBackground editMain articles Solution process 2014 Kurdish riots in Turkey and Rojava Islamist conflict The Kurdish Turkish peace process saw negotiations begin between jailed Kurdistan Workers Party PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Turkish government in late 2012 A ceasefire was called and the PKK agreed to withdraw from Turkish Kurdistan into Iraqi Kurdistan 33 In 2014 anger increased among Turkish Kurds with what they saw as the Turkish state s facilitation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant s assault on Syrian Kurds during the Rojava Islamist conflict 34 culminating in the 2014 Kurdish riots in Turkey during the Siege of Kobani The June 2015 Turkish general election saw Turkey s ruling Justice and Development Party AKP lose its majority and gains for the Peoples Democratic Party HDP Tensions increased further after the Suruc bombing and Ceylanpinar incident in July after which the Turkish government launched the 2015 police raids in Turkey and attacked PKK positions in Iraq prompting the PKK to call off its ceasefire 35 36 Belligerents editTurkish military and affiliates edit Turkish Forces consisting of Turkish Land Forces troops Gendarmerie operatives and Police Special Operations teams are backed by the rest of the Turkish Armed Forces They are supported by a system of village guards which represent a feudal part of Turkey 37 There have been recurring reports of the resurfacing Jitem military police intelligence and anti terrorist service which had been responsible for massacres in the 1990s and of irregular foreign jihadists being employed 38 In 2016 the Turkish government of president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party AKP were increasingly portraying the party they oppose as an enemy of an islamic order referring to the PKK and its affiliates and supporters as atheists and Zoroastrians 39 40 41 PKK and affiliates edit In 2008 according to information provided by the Intelligence Resource Program of the Federation of American Scientists the strength of the organization in terms of human resources consists of approximately 4 000 to 5 000 militants of whom 3 000 to 3 500 are located in northern Iraq 42 With the new wave of fighting from 2015 onward observers said that active support for the PKK had become a mass phenomenon in majority ethnic Kurdish cities in the Southeast of the Republic of Turkey with large numbers of local youth joining PKK affiliated local militant groups 43 According to Turkish estimates the PKK has a much larger size than the previously stated size standing at over 32 800 active fighters spanning across north western Syria south eastern Turkey northern Iraq and north western Iran concentrated on the Qandil mountain range 44 PKK bases remain active in Northern Iraq and its leadership suspected in the Qandil Mountains in Iraq and Iran 45 46 From the traditional preceding Turkish PKK conflicts the PKK insurgency has transitioned into urban warfare in the country s densely populated south east 47 2015 timeline editMain article Timeline of the Kurdish Turkish conflict nbsp Leyla Imret a former mayor of Cizre and German politician Cem Ozdemir 15 September 2015 July edit Suruc bombing and suspected Turkish ISIL retaliations edit See also Ceylanpinar incidents On 20 July 2015 a bombing in the predominantly Kurdish district of Suruc reportedly perpetrated by the Dokumacilar group linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL killed 32 young activists and injured over 100 Most victims were members of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed ESP Youth Wing and the Socialist Youth Associations Federation SGDF university aged students who were giving a press statement on their planned trip to reconstruct the Syrian border town of Kobani in the de facto autonomous Federation of Northern Syria Rojava 48 49 On 21 July the Turkish authorities said that the PKK s military wing has killed a Turkish soldier and wounded two more in Adiyaman in retaliation for Suruc and what they say was Turkey s collaboration with ISIL 50 On 22 July in Ceylanpinar Turkey two policemen were shot in the head by gunmen in their sleep 51 52 A week later however Kurdistan Communities Union KCK spokesman Demhat Agit said PKK was not involved saying these are the units independent from the PKK They are local forces which organized themselves and not affiliated with us despite reports that the PKK had previously claimed responsibility for the attack 53 54 Operation Martyr Yalcin against PKK edit Main article Operation Martyr Yalcin The 21 and 22 July attacks were proclaimed a casus belli by the Turkish government which resulted in Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu taking the decision to begin active air operations against PKK positions in Iraq This was internationally perceived as the end of the ceasefire period in the Kurdish Turkish conflict 55 56 57 The New York Times assessed that the Iraq raids which began late Friday and continued into Saturday effectively ended an unstable two year cease fire between the Turkish government and the Kurdish militants also known by the initials of their Kurdish name PKK 58 On 24 July members of the PKK abducted a policeman in the province of Diyarbakir Additionally two police officers were injured one with life threatening injuries after a suspected PKK grenade attack in Hakkari 59 On 25 July two Turkish soldiers were killed and four were wounded in a car bomb attack in the province of Diyarbakir in Turkey by PKK fighters 60 61 Operations Arslan Kulaksiz and Hamza Yildirim edit Turkish Forces on 26 July reportedly again attacked the same village west of Kobani targeting Kurdish People s Protection Units YPG fighters and fired on a YPG vehicle west of Tell Abyad 62 On 26 July it was reported that F 16s yet again took off from Diyarbakir this time only targeting PKK targets in Northern Iraq Although there was no official government statement on the airstrikes PKK sources said that one of their key bases in Hakurk was attacked 63 It was reported that the number of fighter jets taking part was significantly lower than the jets that took part in the previous waves of the operation 64 The same day Turkish artillery shelled a PKK position in the north of Iraq over several hours 65 On 27 July in the province of Mus the Turkish head of the gendarmerie of the Malazgirt district was killed 66 On 28 July for the first time since the beginning of the operation two Turkish F 16s bombed PKK fighters inside Turkey in the province of Sirnak 67 On 28 July the pipeline between Turkey and Iran was blown up in the province of Agri in Turkey according to the authorities PKK involvement was suspected 68 while a sergeant of the Turkish army was killed according to the army the PKK is responsible 69 In another province a police officer was kidnapped by suspected Kurdistan Workers Party PKK militants in southeastern Turkey 70 On 28 29 July a new wave of shelling was launched in the night and PKK camps in Zap Metina Gara Avasin Basyan Hakurk and the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq were hit by Turkish fighter jets in an operation named after the recently killed gendarmerie major Arslan Kulaksiz 71 On 29 July the oil pipeline between Kirkuk Iraq and Ceyhan Turkey was blown up in the east Turkey in the Sirnak province 72 while in Hakkari police quarters was under attack with heavy arms including rocket launchers and long barrel rifles 73 In another attack one soldier was killed and 4 other were wounded in an attack in the Dogubeyazit district in the eastern province of Agri 74 On 30 July a policeman and a civilian were killed in the town of Cinar by PKK guerilla according to the authority 75 while three soldiers were killed in the attack of their convoy by PKK fighters in the province of Sirnak 76 On 31 July Turkish reconnaissance aircraft once again flew over YPG territory in the north of Syria While in Iraq Turkish fighter jets shelling massively PKK positions 77 On 31 July Turkish fighter jets shelled bases of PKK in the north of Iraq with 30 warplanes were involved This operation was named Hamza Yildirim in honor of the Corporal Hamza Yildirim killed by the PKK in Turkey a few days earlier 78 On 31 July two policemen and two PKK fighters were killed by the PKK in a PKK raid on a police station in Pozanti Adana In a separate incident PKK militants bombed a railway line in the province of Kars in the country s east killing a worker 79 80 while three PKK fighters were killed in Agri province 81 August edit On 1 August two PKK fighters were killed and one civilian wounded in an attack in Catak 82 while PKK fighters took 70 hostages for two hours in the Kars Erzurum Igdir highway 83 On 2 August one Turkish soldier was killed and four injured after a military convoy hit a mine in the Mardin Province Both attacks were blamed on the PKK 79 On 4 August PKK forces attacked a guard post in Sirnak Province with an RPG killing one soldier and injuring another In a separate attack a mine killed two soldiers also in Sirnak Province resulting in Turkish F 16s targeting PKK camps in the country s Hakkari Province with no information on casualties On 7 August PKK attacks left eight dead during numerous attacks In Silopi Sirnak Province five were killed during clashes between Police and the PKK resulting in the deaths of at least one soldier and one police officer In Dogubayazit Agri Province a PKK attack left one soldier and one militant dead A PKK attack on a police patrol in Milyat Mardin Province killed one police officer Elsewhere clashes were reported in Cizre and Uludere Sirnak Province Baskale Van Province and Nusaybin Mardin Province PKK militants were also reported to have hijacked a minibus near Beytussebap Sirnak Province 84 85 On 10 August 9 people were killed in a series of PKK attacks in Turkey In Istanbul a car bomb targeted a police station injuring ten police officers one police officer and two attackers were killed in subsequent clashes Two others attackers launched an attack on the US consulate in Istanbul however there were no casualties police arrest one of the attackers a female in clashes following the attack In Silopi Sirnak Province a mine hit a police convoy killing four officers In Beytussebap Sirnak Province militants opened fire on a military helicopter killing one soldier 86 Turkish security forces killed a female PKK fighter named Kevser Elturk took a picture of her body after they stripped her naked and distributed the photo 87 88 89 On 14 August 4 soldiers were killed in a series of PKK attacks Three soldiers were killed and six injured during clashes with the PKK in Daglica Hakkari Province A civilian was killed during clashes between Police and the PKK in Baglar Diyarbakir 90 On 19 August 4 Turkish police officers were killed by a roadside bomb 91 September edit On 3 September PKK killed 4 Turkish police officers in Mardin province 92 On 5 September the Turkish security forces besieged Cizre in a one week operation The operations were reported to result in about 30 deaths among city s Kurdish residents 93 On 6 September PKK killed 16 Turkish soldiers by a double bombing on a military convoy in Hakkari Province 94 On 8 September PKK forces ambushed a Police minibus killing 14 officers A second attack also resulted in the shooting and killing of a police officer by PKK forces 94 On 25 26 September 34 PKK militants 4 civilians and 2 Turkish soldiers were killed in Sirnak Province PKK sources said 14 Kurdish insurgents and 75 Turkish Soldiers were killed 95 96 On 28 September the Kurdish lawyer Tahir Elci was killed 97 The Turkish police used Armenian as an insult to refer to the Kurdish people in Cizre and Burhan Kuzu a senior adviser to the President of Turkey said that PKK members were uncircumcised implying that they were Armenians 98 October edit Further information 2015 Hakkari assault On 2 October the Turkish military entered the southeastern city of Silvan in the Diyarbakir Province with tanks armored carriers and hundreds of troops to seek out and destroy PKK elements within the city Resulting clashes left at least 17 PKK militants dead while PKK affiliated locals said the Turkish military had bombed civilian areas with artillery citation needed On 4 October a video was released in which Haci Lokman Birlik a 24 year old protester was killed by Turkish security forces before his body was tied to a police car and dragged through the streets 99 Some pro government journalists and AKP members called the released video from the incident as a fake and photoshopped while other Turkish newspapers such as Sabah called it a common routine against terrorists 99 Haci Lokman Birlik was the brother in law of former HDP MP Leyla Birlik Later Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu said it is not acceptable and that both officers who were responsible of dragging the body of Birlik were fired However the HDP released a statement stating that both officers haven t been fired and statements of Ahmet Davutoglu are not true 100 On 10 October a double suicide bombing was carried out in Ankara during an anti war demonstration rally held by pro Kurdish leftist and communist civilians The bombing resulted in at least 102 killed amongst the demonstrators November edit On 5 November the Turkish military concluded the 40 day long 2015 Hakkari assault ground offensive in the mountains of the south eastern border province in which hundreds of PKK fighters were killed dozens of their bunkers were destroyed and dozens of anti aircraft weaponry was captured 101 On 15 November the Turkish Air Force bombarded 44 different locations with F 16s F 4E 2020 Terminators and unmanned drones in Northern Iraq in response to the PKK attempting to reconstruct depots barracks bunkers and hideouts that were destroyed earlier in the year by the air strikes conducted on 31 July 102 On 21 November the Turkish Air Force struck 23 different locations in the Sirnak border province and in Northern Iraq destroying caches and hideouts severing PKK supply lines 103 These included supply and shelter points in the mountains of Semidinli Hakkari south east Turkey north of their Iraqi and Iranian borders On 22 November the Turkish Air Force struck 7 different locations in the Hakkari Province on the Iraqi border killing 10 PKK militants and destroying several shelters and supply points 104 Two civilians were also killed during the curfew in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province on the Sunday in which on Monday 23rd entered its tenth consecutive day The Turkish chief of General Staff earlier this year released a statement saying the Military is sensitive when it comes to civilian casualties who are caught up in armed clashes 101 105 December edit On 2 December PKK militants set a remote controlled IED trap for a Turkish Army convoy killing one soldier and injuring 9 others in the explosion in the Mardin Province 106 On 2 December PKK militants launched an armed attack on a police checkpoint during a curfew in Sur injuring one officer and killing 3 PKK insurgents in the clash 106 On 8 December the Turkish Air Force launched night time airstrikes consisting of 10 F 16s into Northern Iraq s Kandil Harkuk Zap and Avasin Basyan regions 107 On 11 December the Turkish Government imposed an indefinite 24h curfew for Sur Diyarbakir 108 On 13 December PKK militants launched 18 different explosive attacks on a police station in Dargecit consisting of anti armor RPG rockets and grenades injuring 3 police officers and 3 civilians just hours after counter insurgency operation in the same town killed 11 militants citation needed On 14 December the Turkish Government imposed an indefinite 24h curfew for the cities Cizre and Silopi 108 On 15 December the Turkish Army and Police launched a massive operation in Sirnak Province s towns of Cizre and Silopi On 17 December in Cizre and Silopi the Turkish Army and Police Special Operations units backed by tanks armored vehicle units and helicopters began an operation which killed over 127 Kurdish rebels in a week Also 27 civilians were reported to have died due to the operation Security forces raided cleared abandoned houses and trenches destroyed barricades while fighting through and liberating militant stronghold neighborhoods Tank shelling and artillery strikes in the surrounding mountains were also conducted cut off neighborhood strongholds and sniper positions targeting security forces It is estimated half the towns population had been driven out since violence sparked up earlier in the year leaving many unoccupied apartments and houses to be utilized by the PKK to fortify and reinforce their presence prior to this operation 109 110 111 112 113 114 On 18 December the Turkish minister of the interior Efkan Ala declared over 3 000 PKK militant had been neutralized 10 tons of explosives had been seized and 240 weapons had been captured since the collapse of the ceasefire earlier that year in late July 115 On 21 December a roadside bomb in Bitlis killed 2 soldiers and injured 8 others during an anti PKK operation 116 On 30 December 3 soldiers were wounded when PKK militants detonated an IED bomb in Sur 117 On 31 December 1 police officer was killed and 5 others were injured during a police operation to disassemble barricades and fill in ditches dug up by militants when PKK militants fired a rocket upon security forces in Cizre Four of the injured officers who were in urgent condition were sent to the capital Ankara for further medical treatment 117 On 31 December one police officer died after a PKK bomb attack in Sur during a house operation against militants In the same operation Turkish security forces had seized an RPG 3 rockets an anti tank missile 30 electric bomb detonators and numerous PKK propaganda leaflets that police say aimed at provoking the public 117 2016 timeline editJanuary edit On 1 January 12 PKK militants two Police officers and a civilian were killed in Cizre 118 119 A Police officer was killed in Sur citation needed A Soldier and one civilian was killed in Silopi 119 120 A Turkish tank malfunctioned and was damaged in Cizre 121 A total of 18 were killed that day On 3 January mine trap set by the PKK the previous night in a neighborhood killed 3 Turkish soldiers in Sur 122 On 4 January rocket attacks launched by the PKK s youth militant arm YDG H at security forces in Sirnak resulted in an incurring shoot out in which 2 militants were killed 123 On 7 January Turkish Forces killed 16 militants in Cizre and 2 in Sur bringing the PKK death toll over the last 3 weeks in the Sirnak Province to 426 124 On 7 January the Turkish Military captured 58 PKK militants fleeing to Iraq disguised as local villagers in the town of Silopi of the Sirnak Province On 8 January Turkish Police Special Operations Rapid Response Force riot police and Police intelligence teams raided a HDP Kurdish opposition party s office in Istanbul arresting 5 Kurdish politicians after Police were informed that the murder weapon of 22 July 2015 murder of 2 police officers conducted by PKK militants in their sleep in Ceylanpinar was being held in that office 124 On 9 January a soldier and a police officer were shot dead in an attack by PKK militants in Diyarbakir Turkey s largest predominantly Kurdish south eastern city 125 On 10 January heavy clashes during a counter terrorism operation between the PKK and police in eastern Van killed 12 PKK militants and a police officer Security forces say the operation successfully prevented a large scale attack against government buildings 125 On 10 January Turkish troops killed 20 PKK militants in Cizre Silopi and Sur during clashes 125 On 12 January Turkish Police detained 16 suspects belonging to the YDG H in Elazig during a raid in which documents explicitly planning a crowd demonstration to harm public buildings and boast PKK propaganda was seized similar to the 7 January elementary school burning incident in Sirnak The documents themselves are believed to be handed down from the PKK to the YDG H youth group 126 On 12 January the Turkish Air Force conducted night time airstrikes on PKK camps in the Great Zab Gare Avashin and Basyan regions of northern Iraq using four F 16Ds and two F 4 Terminator 2020s technologically modernized heavy combat aircraft whilst using drones to locate camps quartering caves and shelters prior to the strike In the same statement to press the Turkish Armed Forces stated that 578 terrorists had been killed since 15 December bringing the overall PKK death toll to 3 678 since July 2015 127 128 On 14 January a car bomb targeting a police station and police housing unit adjacent to the station killed 6 people and injured 40 in Cinar Diyarbakir southeastern Turkey Amongst the dead where relatives of police including a family consisting of a wife a 5 year old and an infant Upon the initial bomb attack PKK militants opened fire using rockets and assault weapons on the security complex resulting in a fierce firefight 129 130 The PKK claimed the attack left over 30 Police officers dead as quoted by pro Kurdish media however said that more than five civilian were killed as a result of the attack 131 On 14 January Turkish Army troops killed 19 PKK militants in a government operations as well as capturing a total of 10 PKK militants and affiliates According to the Turkish General Staff 12 were killed in heavy clashes in Cizre 5 were killed and 10 were captured in Silopi and 2 were killed in Sur 132 On 15 January 1 Turkish Police Special Operations officer was wounded and killed in a raid on a PKK Sleeper cell in Siirt by sniper fire from PKK militants According to Turkish media reports over 15 000 people attended the funeral of the slain officer Yalcin Yamaner in Tokat The family of the slain officer whom were being accommodated in police family lodges are to be bought a house on the behalf of the General Directorate of Security 132 133 134 135 136 On 18 January a total of 3 service members of the Turkish Police Special Operation Department were killed and 7 were wounded in a night time IED trap set the day before targeting the convoy in Idil Ensuing heavy clashes reportedly lasted till dawn 137 On 18 January 2 Police Special Operations officers were killed and 12 were wounded in the Yenimahalle neighborhood of Sirnak Province when a police bus was struck by a rocket fired by PKK insurgents 137 On 18 January a Turkish Army specialized sergeant succumbed to his injuries and died shortly after being critically wounded by sniper fire in Sur 137 On 19 January Cizre municipal council member Abdulhamit Pocal and Selman Erdogan were killed and IMC TV cameraman Refik Tekin along with 10 others were wounded during a firefight between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants though it is not clear who opened fire on the group Pro Kurdish sources say that it was the Turkish side 138 139 140 On 19 January Turkish Forces conducted an operation extracting a family from their neighborhood who had received threats from the PKK to not leave and stopping those who attempt to The PKK calls for Kurds in the region to not leave their houses and participate in the so called resistance 141 On 19 January 3 Police Special Operations members were wounded when PKK militants opened fire on units removing roadblocks dismantling barricades and filling up trenches set up by PKK elements citation needed On 21 January new Turkish Military raids is Silopi led to the discovery of a U S made RQ 20 Puma UAV in the hands of PKK militants Turkish Military officials believe that the aerial surveillance drone was handed to PKK elements by the YPG the PKK s sister group based in Syria who are backed by the U S despite fierce Turkish objection The discovery of the drone by Turkish troops further confirmed Turkey s suspicions of U S and various European weapons being supplied to the YPG would eventually end up in PKK hands 142 143 On 27 January while clearing out boobytrapped barricades in Sur 4 members of the Turkish security forces were killed in a simultaneously launched attack consisting of pre planted remote detonated explosives rocket and sniper fire by PKK militants consisting of 3 army soldiers and a Police Special Operations officer while also wounding critically wounding 6 others According to the Turkish Army ensuing fierce clashes killed 9 PKK militants 144 145 February edit On 1 February 3 Turkish soldiers and 2 police were killed in the Sur district of Diyarbakir 146 On 3 February the Turkish Air Force launched a massive scale air strike operation consisting of around 40 jets and hit over 100 targets in Northern Iraq Targets hit included a PKK meeting in Qandil 147 On 7 February more than 150 civilians were reportedly burnt in a basement by Turkish security forces 148 149 3 Turkish troops were wounded amongst the fierce clashes by a bomb trap During the raid PKK militants were reportedly speaking on the phone with Faysal Sariyildiz a HDP parliamentarian 149 On 12 February Turkish Army troops killed 16 PKK militants in the town of Cizre 5 in Sur and 6 in Hakkari Province bringing the overall PKK death toll to 27 while 24 bodies of PKK militants killed in previous operations were recovered the same day 150 151 On 17 February a Kurdistan Freedom Hawks TAK militant 152 carried out a car bomb attack in Turkey s capital of Ankara killing 28 people including 27 military personnel and injuring a further 61 The attack targeted a bus full of military personnel in close proximity to the Turkish Armed Forces Department of Defense and parliament building Security forces have currently detained 14 people in connection with the bombing 153 154 155 156 The government held both the YPG and PKK responsible for the attack even after the TAK claimed responsibility It was later confirmed by DNA reports that the perpetrator was a TAK militant 157 158 159 On 18 February Turkish Air Force fighter jets launched large scale air strikes in northern Iraq in response to the previous days Ankara bombing hitting a group of 60 70 militants including senior commanders in Qandil 160 161 On 18 February a roadside bomb in Diyarbakir Province killed 6 Turkish troops while another two were killed in armed attacks in the Sirnak Province 160 161 162 On 23 February Turkish Forces killed 6 PKK militants in clashes in Idil 163 On 24 February the Turkish Forces killed 20 PKK militants in heavy clashes during ongoing counter insurgency operations in Idil 163 On 24 February Turkish Army AH 1 Super Cobra attack helicopters killed 12 PKK militants attempting to infiltrate the town of Idil from the Syrian border 164 165 166 March edit On 2 March the curfew in Cizre was lifted after 79 days 167 On 6 March Released data stating that 1 250 militants had been killed since July of last year in the Nusaybin Dargecit and Derik districts of Mardin Province The report further more stated that over 3 000 explosives targeting security forces had been defused and 2 307 barricades and ditches were dismantled and filled citation needed On 6 March 6 convicted PKK militants broke out of Diyarbakir Prison Roll call indicated 6 where shown missing As a result security measures at the prison were increased and an operation to locate the whereabouts of the escapees are underway 168 169 On 7 March Turkish troops killed 4 PKK militants in the Sur district of Diyarbakir Province and defused 16 explosive devices aimed at sabotaging troops 170 On 7 March Turkish counter insurgency operations killed 6 PKK militants in Idil Turkish troops defused a total of 18 explosive devices in the same operation 170 On 9 March Turkish airstrikes reportedly hit PKK shelters ammunition depots and supply lines in northern Iraq 171 On 11 March Turkish Air Force airstrikes reportedly killed at least 67 PKK militants in northern Iraq Turkish F 16 s and F 4E Terminator 2020s reportedly struck PKK headquarters situated on the Iran Iraq border i 172 173 174 On 13 March a suspected PKK car bombing in the capital Ankara killed 37 civilians and injured a further 125 when the car accelerated and crashed into a bus before exploding in one of the busiest areas in the city and just a few hundred yards from the prime ministers office Those killed include the father of renowned soccer player Umut Bulut 175 176 Four days later the TAK claimed responsibility for the attack 177 On 14 March a day after the Ankara bombing 11 Turkish Air Force warplanes struck 18 different targets in Northern Iraq in response to the suspected PKK bombing 178 179 At least 45 suspect PKK militants were killed citation needed On 16 March Turkish police detained 73 PKK terror suspects including lawyers throughout the country during simultaneous raids in connection to the March 2016 Ankara bombing 180 On 22 March an attack by PKK militants killed a Turkish soldier and injured 6 others in Nusaybin 181 On 23 March Turkish Air Force F 16s and F 4 Terminator 2020s struck several PKK targets in northern Iraq and in Turkey s bordering south eastern mountains including shelters caves weapons caches and militants killing at least 24 insurgents 182 183 184 On 24 March Turkish forces killed a PKK linked YPS leader in Sirnak 185 On 28 March documents were released by the Turkish government which indicated that they have made a decision to illegally confiscate 9 000 acres of property in the historic city center of Diyarbakir including thousands of private properties and 6 churches owned by religious foundations The Turkish Government states that they appropriated the land and properties in the historic district in order to rebuild and repair them although locals are skeptical of this with the appropriations sparking more conflict in the region 186 On 29 March Salih Zeki Cetinkaya the chairman of the Justice and Development Party AKP in Ispir was kidnapped by PKK militants in Lice citation needed On 29 March ongoing Turkish military operations killed 16 PKK militants in Nusaybin 187 On 29 March Turkish troops killed 9 PKK militants during clashes in Sirnak 187 On 29 March Turkish troops killed 3 PKK militants and recovered one body of a previously killed militant during clashes in Yuksekova 187 On 31 March 7 police officers were killed and 27 people were injured by a PKK car bomb in Diyarbakir after a vehicle laden with explosives rammed into a police bus and detonated 188 189 April edit On 2 April 5 Turkish troops and a Police Special Operations officer was killed in Nusaybin by an IED bomb planted by PKK militants 190 191 On 3 April Turkish Forces killed seventeen militants in Yuksekova six in Nusaybin and four in Sirnak in anti insurgency operations bringing the total to 27 citation needed On 4 April a member of the paramilitary Kurdish Village guard forces whom are fighting alongside Turkish Forces against PKK insurgents was killed by PKK militants disguised as doctors in front of a clinic in Bitlis 192 On 5 April Turkish Air Force F 16s and F 4 Terminator 2020s attacked PKK targets in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq targets struck include PKK weapons caches ammunition depots amp militant shelters killing 67 militants 193 194 On 5 April a Turkish army tank en route to ongoing regional military operations traveling as a part of an armored convoy through the mountainous terrain of Uludere fell off of a cliff tumbling into a canyon below killing 1 crew member and injuring another 195 196 197 On 7 April a Turkish soldier and Police Special Operations officer was killed by an IED bomb attack in Nusaybin during ongoing military operations to root out militants 198 On 8 April Turkish warplanes struck unspecified targets in south eastern Turkey and northern Iraq 199 On 8 April Turkish forces killed 12 PKK militants in military operations in the countries south east 7 in Nusaybin 3 in Hakkari and 2 militants in Sirnak 200 On 10 April the Turkish Army launched an operation in Hakkari killing 19 PKK militants in various districts Turkish troops recovered dozens of hand made bombs AK 47 style assault rifles RPG 7 rockets and rocket launchers during the operation which lasted around an hour 201 202 On 12 April a massive truck bomb attack by PKK militants on the Hani regional Gendarmerie headquarters killed 3 Turkish soldiers and injured 54 others 203 204 205 On 12 April during clashes between Turkish troops and PKK in Hakkari an explosion unknown and random explosion most likely from an IED bomb killed 1 soldier and injured 4 others 206 On 12 April a gun attack by PKK militants killed 1 soldier and injured 4 others during ongoing military operations in Sirnak 207 On 13 April Cemil Ates a senior PKK militant leader was killed during clashes with security forces in Mus 208 On 16 April 5 Police Special Operations officers were killed and 6 others were wounded by a roadside bomb in Savur citation needed On 17 April 23 PKK militants were killed in the mountains of Tunceli in a military operation by troops and attack helicopters after a Turkish UAV spotted a group of militants 209 210 On 21 April Turkish F 16 s carried out air strikes in the mountains of Hakkari and Sirnak destroying PKK targets 211 On 22 April 3 Turkish soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb planted by PKK militants in Tunceli citation needed On 22 April Turkish forces killed 8 PKK militants in ongoing military operations in Sirnak 212 On 22 April Turkish forces killed 4 PKK militants in ongoing military operations in Nusaybin 212 On 22 April Turkish troops killed 18 PKK militants attempting to cross the border into Syria s Qamishli region from Turkey s south eastern Nusaybin region 213 On 22 April Turkish troops killed 6 PKK militants in Mardin and Sirnak 214 On 23 April a Turkish Gendarmerie soldier was killed by PKK sniper fire in Mardin 214 On 23 April Turkish Air Force F 16 s and F 4E 2020 Terminator fighter jets struck several targets in northern Iraq 215 On 28 April two soldiers and 10 PKK members were killed in counter terrorism operations 216 On 30 April 20 Turkish fighter jets struck scores of PKK targets in air raids in Northern Iraq and Sirnak s vast and mountainous border region within Turkey 217 May edit On 1 May 3 Turkish soldiers were killed and 14 others were wounded in the Nusaybin district when the PKK attacked an army bomb disposal team with rockets 218 On 2 May 24 PKK militants were killed in ongoing military operations in the south east 7 were killed in Sirnak 6 in Nusaybin 6 in Cukurca and 5 in Semdinli 219 On 2 May 18 PKK militants were killed in air strikes by F 16 and F 4 Terminator 2020 fighter jets in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq 219 On 6 May PKK militants killed a Turkish soldier with a missile 220 On 7 May two PKK militants were killed in the province of Tunceli by Turkish forces 221 On 8 May 12 PKK militants were killed in northern Iraq in air strikes launched by Turkish Air Force F 16 s Targets also included PKK bunkers gun emplacements and ammunition depots 222 On 12 May 4 PKK militants and 13 civilians were killed in a premature explosion while loading a truck with heavy explosives in preparation of an attack on Turkish forces 223 224 On 13 May 6 Turkish troops and 22 PKK militants were killed in a PKK attack in Cukurca 225 226 On 13 May 2 Turkish pilots died in a helicopter crash caused by a PKK fired MANPAD in the mountains of Hakkari The attack helicopter was en route to engage PKK militants attacking Turkish troops in Cukurca 227 Turkish media initially thought the incident was an accident 228 On 14 May the Turkish Air Force launched a series of air strikes killing 12 PKK militants in Turkey s southeast as well as northern Iraq citation needed On 15 May the Turkish Military announced that it had killed 35 PKK militants in military operations 18 were killed by air strikes into the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq 8 killed in Sirnak 4 in Sarikamis 3 in Yuksekova and 2 in Nusaybin 229 On 18 May 4 Turkish soldiers were killed and 9 others were wounded when PKK militants detonated a roadside bomb in Hakkari ambushing a surpassing convoy 230 On 18 May Turkish Air Force F 16s and F 4E Terminator 2020s launched overnight air strikes in northern Iraq killing 10 PKK militants 230 On 22 May 30 PKK militants were killed in Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq 231 On 24 May 6 Turkish soldiers were killed after a PPK attack on Van Province Daily Sabah On 25 May YPS said it withdrew its forces in Nusaybin 232 Also 67 PKK members surrendered in 20 25 May 233 234 HDP states they are civilians not PKK fighters citation needed On 28 May Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a speech to Islamist supporters in the town of Diyarbakir which gained global attention as he referred to our enemy presumed to be the PKK and its supporters as atheists and Zoroastrians 39 40 41 On 29 May Turkish Air Force fighter jets struck several PKK targets in northern Iraq killing at least 14 PKK militants 235 On 30 May 2 Police Special Operations officers were killed by a bomb trap by PKK militants in Ipekyolu 236 On 31 May the Turkish Air Force launched air strikes in northern Iraq hitting six different positions 237 June edit On 5 June 7 PKK militants were killed in Semdinli during ongoing military operations 238 On 5 June 20 PKK militants were killed in Hakkari border province and northern Iraq after a series of Turkish military air strikes Turkish Air Force F 16 s reportedly struck caves shelters weapons caches and other militant positions 238 239 On 5 June the Turkish General Staff announced that it has shifted the direction of operations against PKK militants from urban centers to rural areas in the country s southeastern and eastern parts 240 On 6 June Turkish Air Force jets launched another round of airstrikes into northern Iraq for the 2nd day in a row again hitting PKK positions and elements 241 242 On 7 June a PKK car bomb killed 11 people including 7 police officers in Istanbul as a vehicle laden with explosives detonated as a convoy of police buses were passing through a busy street during morning rush hour Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim named the PKK as being responsible for the terrorist attack 243 However the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks organisation took responsibility 244 245 On 8 June another car bomb killed 5 people including 2 female police officers in the south eastern town of Midyat One of the police officers killed was 6 months pregnant and former Turkish president Abdullah Gul s body guard 246 247 On 11 June the Turkish Air Force launched widespread air strikes in northern Iraq and in Turkey s Lice Hakkari and Siirt regions killing 13 PKK militants The strikes came after PKK movement was spotted by UAV s citation needed On 11 June 3 PKK militants were killed in Ipekyolu during ongoing military operations citation needed On 11 June 2 Turkish army soldiers were killed while four others wounded in a PKK attack on the Tekeli military base in the Semdinli district of southeastern province of Hakkari 248 On 14 June a first media source said that the new Turkish government under Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had immediately after assuming office on 24 May come to an agreement with the PKK entailing that PKK guerrillas must retreat from the Kurdish cities in southeastern Turkey and the Turkish government in return will allow the Syrian Democratic Forces to control the areas in the west of Euphrates river in northern Syria and that Ankara has also agreed to move the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan from Imrali Island Prison in the Marmara Sea to another location and place him under house arrest and resume negotiations with PKK as part of the agreement 249 The SDF s Manbij offensive in northern Syria for the Federation of Northern Syria Rojava has been going since 1 June On 15 June a village guard was killed and another was wounded in a PKK attack in the eastern province of Mus 250 On 15 June Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag co chairs of the HDP released a statement stating that while armed clashes have stopped in all these urban districts curfews are still in effect for full days in some districts while at night in some others and that Erdogan AKP rule is directly responsible for all this destruction and suffering The crimes against humanity committed by them are piling up with every passing day They demanded that the ongoing round the clock curfews blockades and destruction in Kurdish cities and towns should be immediately stopped All the obstacles that prevent residents from safely returning to their homes should be removed 251 On 16 June HDP co chairman Selahattin Demirtas called on the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks to dissolve 252 On 21 June Prime Minister and AKP chairman Binali Yildirim declared the end of military operations in Turkey s southeast and said the government would now focus on reconstruction of cities damaged by clashes between the security forces and the PKK However he threatened to now take action against HDP councillors in municipalities in the southeast 253 On 22 June 1 Turkish army soldier was killed and 2 were wounded in a PKK attack in the province of Sirnak 254 On 22 June President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that in his handling of the conflict he considered himself successful in having civil society groups working against Turkish state largely destroyed 255 a conclusion that had been confirmed some days earlier by Sedat Laciner Professor of International Relations and rector of the Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University Outlawing unarmed and peaceful opposition sentencing people to unfair punishment under erroneous terror accusations will feed genuine terrorism in Erdogan s Turkey Guns and violence will become the sole alternative for legally expressing free thought 256 On 24 June 6 Turkish army soldiers were killed in two separate PKK attacks in the Cukurca district of the southeastern province of Hakkari and the Derik district of the southeastern province of Mardin 257 On 25 June Turkish warplanes conducted airstrikes against PKK targets in the southeastern province of Hakkari with no casualties reported 258 On 26 June Figen Yuksekdag co chair of the HDP said that an ethnic cleansing war is being conducted against the Kurdish people Lots of deaths and exiles have taken place 600 000 Kurds have been forced to migrate from the lands they had been living in But Kurds haven t abandoned their lands Heavy weapons have been used during these sieges of provinces For example in Nusaybin in southern Mardin province F 16s have been used 259 On 26 June 2 Turkish army soldiers were killed in a PKK attack in the Lice district of the southeastern province of Diyarbakir 260 On 27 June 1 Turkish army soldier was killed and another two were wounded in a PKK attack in the eastern province of Bitlis 261 On 29 June 2 Turkish army soldiers were killed in two separate PKK attacks in the Lice and Bismil districts of the southeastern province of Diyarbakir 262 On 29 June 2 Turkish army soldiers were killed and three were wounded when a hand made explosive laid on the ground was detonated by PKK militants in the Derik district of the southeastern province of Mardin 263 July edit On 8 July Turkish Air Force jets launched a round of airstrikes into Qandil mountains and Semdinli stating that 12 PKK militants were killed 264 On 8 July the PKK launched nine to ten simultaneous attacks in the Semdinli district and the city of Yuksekova in southeastern Turkey The Turkish army outpost at Artuklu was leveled and 4 soldiers were killed 265 On 9 July 2 PKK militants were killed in Agri 266 From 9 July to 12 July sources in the Turkish government stated that a senior PKK figure under the name of Fehman Huseyin alias Bahoz Erdal would have been assassinated in Syria 267 The story was initially taken up by several international media it was however debunked when Erdal gave a radio interview on 13 July 268 and later thoroughly deconstructed as fake 267 On 10 July one PKK militant was killed in Van Province 269 On 11 July 4 Turkish army soldiers were killed in a PKK attack in the Semdinli district 270 4 PKK militants were killed and 2 were captured in Mardin Kiziltepe 271 On 20 July Turkish Air Force jets launched a round of airstrikes into Northern Iraq and killed 20 PKK militants 272 One Village guard was killed while another 2 were wounded during a PKK attack in Sirvan district of the southeastern province of Siirt 273 On 30 July 35 PKK militants were killed in Hakkari after military operations were launched against PKK elements in the region 274 On 31 July 3 Turkish soldiers were killed in Ordu by a PKK attack whom were conducting military operations 275 276 August edit On 1 August 5 police officers were killed in Bingol after their convoy was ambushed by a remote detonated bomb 277 278 On 11 August Turkish Air Force fighters struck several positions in northern Iraq killing an unspecified amount of PKK militants following PKK attacks in Hakkari which killed 4 soldiers 279 On 15 August a PKK car bomb attack on a police station near Bismil killed 6 people including 4 police officers and a child 280 On 17 August August 2016 Van attack A car bomb was detonated near the building by a PKK member at 23 15 in front of the Iki Nisan Police Station on Sihke Street in the central Ipekyolu District of Van A total of 4 people 2 of whom were police officers lost their lives in the attack and 72 people 20 of whom were police officers were injured The surrounding buildings were also damaged in the attack 281 On 18 August an alleged PKK car bomb attack on a police station in Elazig killed 7 police officers and wounded 224 people 282 On 18 August Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his country does not differentiate between the Gulen Movement PKK or ISIS designating them all as Terrorist organizations 283 On 21 August a PKK militant whom was on Turkey s most wanted list was killed by a police raid in Ordu The militant was responsible for an attack that killed 3 soldiers in Turkey s south east 275 On 24 August 5 Turkish soldiers were killed in PKK rocket attacks on a military outpost in Lice 284 On 25 August an unsuccessful assassination attempt was carried out by the PKK against the Republican party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu as his convoy passed through Artvin Province sparking a shoot out between his private security detail accompanied by local police against PKK militants citation needed On 25 August during Operation Euphrates Shield while Turkish forces and pro Turkish local militia factions liberated various towns and villages from ISIS control along the Turkish border Kurdish YPG forces whom Turkey states is a Syrian extension of the PKK opened fire on Turkish troops and killed a Turkish soldier Turkish fighter jets and artillery immediately after the incident reportedly struck YPG positions killing 25 YPG militants 285 On 26 August a PKK truck bomb attack on a security checkpoint near a police station killed 11 police officers in Cizre and damaged the police station 286 On 28 August a roadside bomb planted by PKK militants in Siirt injured 5 Turkish soldiers citation needed On 28 August a botched PKK attack resulted in heavy clashes with Turkish troops in Hakkari killing 9 PKK militants and injuring 2 Turkish soldiers citation needed On 29 August four Turkish Air Force F 16s carried out airstrikes on various PKK targets in northern Iraq 287 September edit On 1 September 2 soldiers in Siirt and a village guard in Van were killed in PKK attacks while Turkish airstrikes killed 3 PKK militants in Cukurca 288 On 2 September Turkish riot police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a group of protesters along the Syrian border who demonstrated against Turkey building a wall on the Syrian border near the Kurdish controlled Syrian town of Kobani The UK based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights states that one child had been killed and more than 30 people injured 289 On 2 September Turkish soldiers killed 27 PKK militants and captured a further 30 militants during ongoing military operations in Cukurca 290 On 2 September Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced that peace talks with the PKK would not restart and that military operations would continue On 4 September multiple PKK attacks and relentless military operations in conjunction in Cukurca over the past weekend killed or wounded over a 104 PKK militants and 18 soldiers 291 On 5 September 30 PKK militants were killed in an airstrike in northern Iraq bringing the total number of PKK militants killed wounded or captured over the past weekend to 157 292 On 9 September the Turkish Air Force hit 3 different PKK positions in airstrikes launched into northern Iraq 293 On 9 September 14 PKK militants were killed in Semdinli during military operations in the region 293 On 10 September 33 PKK militants were killed in airstrikes in northern Iraq after the Turkish Air Force launched another round of bombings into the region striking 9 locations 294 295 On 10 September the Turkish government granted the jailed leader of the PKK Abdullah Ocalan a family visit to his Island prison in Imrali 296 On 10 September Turkey announced it was swapping 28 administrations of local government municipalities in the countries south east on having suspected links to the PKK citation needed On 12 September a PKK car bomb in front of the government municipality headquarters building in Van injured over 50 people 297 On 13 September Dutch police announced that they would register the names of Turks and Kurds in the Netherlands who sympathize with the PKK into the national police database 298 On 14 September Turkish air strikes in Hakkari killed 16 PKK militants 299 On 14 September new evidence solidifying suspicions against 28 PKK linked mayors in various provinces in Turkey s southeast arose According to the evidence certain local counties and municipalities were providing local government transportation and construction vehicles to PKK elements in order to transport ammunition militants and other supplies while constructing barricades and barriers to be used against military and police targets 300 On 15 September 7 local village guards 2 soldiers and a civilian was killed after a security checkpoint was attacked by PKK rockets and sniper fire in Agri One of the village guards was retired having rushed to the seen after hearing about the then ongoing attack 301 On 15 September a civilian was killed in Nusaybin after a hidden explosive trap set by the PKK had detonated 301 On 16 September Mehmet Ferden Carikci Turkey s permanent representative to the U N s Geneva office harshly criticized the U N s report on Thursday which does not refer to the PKK as a terrorist organization although the group is recognized as a terrorist organization by many countries including the U S the EU and Turkey 302 On 16 September 11 PKK militants were killed in ongoing military operations in Hakkari Province while a village guard in Van was killed after attempting to prevent militants from cutting off a road 303 On 16 September Turkeys third largest political parties the Kurdish HDP s Deputy co chair along with 12 other members were arrested for reportedly of recruiting Kurdish youth to join the ranks of the PKK and having direct reported links with the militant organization 304 On 18 September the Turkish military killed 3 PKK militants during ongoing counter insurgency operations in Sirnak 305 On 19 September the Turkish Air Force struck several targets in northern Iraq s Kirkuk Governorate destroying weapons positions and killing at least 2 militants 305 On 22 September a Turkish shepherd was approached and killed by PKK militants in Sirnak 306 On 26 September 2 Turkish soldiers and 2 village guards were killed by an IED bomb in Mardin 307 On 26 September 6 Turkish soldiers were killed and 2 others were wounded in Uludere by a large scale PKK rocket attack against troops patrolling a highway 307 On 26 September 12 PKK militants were killed Yuksekova after the Turkish military intensified combat operations in spite of recent PKK attacks citation needed On 29 September a Turkish military drone strike killed 4 PKK militants in Hakkari while Turkish Air Force jets struck several PKK shelters and weapons storages in northern Iraq during a day of widespread military aerial operations in the region 308 On 29 September PKK militants in the border province of Hakkari opened fire upon volunteer defense militia and killed 3 village guards 309 On 30 September 6 PKK militants were killed in Ordu during military operations 310 October edit On 3 October Turkish Army troops killed a total of 20 PKK militants during heavy clashes amidst ongoing counter insurgency operations in Sirnak citation needed On 3 October an IED attack on a Turkish army convoy killed 2 Turkish soldiers in Hakkari citation needed On 5 October 3 PKK militants were killed in heavy clashes with Turkish forces in Cukurca 311 On 6 October 8 PKK militants were killed in a combination of air and land operations by Turkish forces ongoing in the Hakkari and Agri regions 311 On 7 October the bodies of 5 previously killed PKK militants were recovered from a cave in Cukurca along with weapon magazines explosives and AK type rifles used by the militants 311 On 8 October Turkish forces recovered the body of an individual who had been abducted by PKK militants in a ditch on the side of a road in Sur 312 On 8 October PKK militants executed a female militant attempting to flee the group 313 On 9 October a PKK truck bomb attack on a Turkish Gendarmerie outpost in Hakkari killed 18 people including 10 Turkish soldiers and eight civilians 314 On 9 October the Turkish Army killed 8 PKK militants during a raid on a PKK weapons and munitions depot in Cukurca 315 On 10 October Turkish police foiled a suicide bombing plot in the nation s capital Ankara the standoff ended with the militants detonating explosives during a police raid which only resulted in the death of the PKK militants 316 On 11 October a Turkish army T 129 attack helicopter neutralized a vehicle rigged with explosives used by PKK as a car bomb before it could ram into and detonate at nearby troops in Lice 311 On 11 October during ongoing military operations across Turkey s south east 20 tons of Ammonium nitrate intended for explosives use was captured in Sur hundreds of AK magazines were captured in Batman along with explosives and over a thousand of varying rifle magazines and rocket munitions were captured in Cukurca 311 On 12 October 9 PKK militants were killed in Cukurca by a Turkish military drone strike 311 317 On 13 October 5 PKK militants were killed in northern Iraq by Turkish Army artillery strikes 311 On 13 October Turkish Air Force F 16 s struck PKK shelters in northern Iraq 318 On 15 October multiple shelters and caves used by the PKK were destroyed during by Turkish military operations in Sirnak Cukurca and Bitlis 311 On 17 October 10 PKK militants were killed in Tunceli by a Turkish military airstrike during ongoing counter insurgency operations in the region 319 On 18 October 4 PKK militants were killed by Turkish army operations in Cukurca 311 On 19 October Turkish fighter jets struck PKK shelters in Hakkari on the mountainous Turkish Iraq border citation needed On 20 October between 9 11 p m and 11 59 p m the Turkish Air Force conducted a massive aerial operation against PKK linked Kurdish YPG targets in Syria s Aleppo province 320 The SOHR reported 14 militants have died due to the airstrikes 321 Turkey has previously militarily threatened the YPG and said it that Turkey wouldn t permit a terror corridor to be established at its southern border 322 On 20 October 26 PKK militants and 2 Turkish soldiers were killed in Hakkari during Turkish army counter insurgency operations 311 323 On 21 October 12 PKK militants in Hakkari were killed by Turkish troops during ongoing military operations to root out the separatist militant organization 324 On 21 October 6 PKK militants in northern Iraq were killed by Turkish air strikes 324 On 21 October about 100 rockets were fired by the Turkish army into regions of Syria held by the YPG striking several targets 325 On 23 October 7 PKK militants were killed by the Turkish armed forces in Tunceli during counter insurgency operations On 24 October Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in a meeting with his French counterpart Jean Marc Ayrault assured the public with a statement that Turkey would begin to more actively fight the PKK in Iraq in addition the insurgency in the nations south east 326 On 24 October 7 PKK militants were killed in Turkish army operations in Cukurca 327 On 25 October the co mayors of Diyarbakir Gultan Kisanak and Firhat Anli were arrested November edit On 2 November 6 PKK militants surrendered to Turkish forces in Silopi 311 On 3 November Turkish military operations killed 5 PKK militants two in Bitlis two in northern Iraq and one in Lice 311 On 4 November at least nine people were killed and more than 100 injured in a car bomb attack outside the police headquarters in central Diyarbakir The governor of Diyarbakir Province Cahit Kirac said the Kurdistan Workers Party had claimed responsibility The bombing took place just hours after the arrests of pro Kurdish HDP leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag whom are said by the Turkish government to have ties to the outlawed PKK organization 328 On 4 November 14 PKK militants were killed in widespread Turkish military operations seven in Sirnak three in Hakkari three in northern Iraq and one in Lice while a separate militant surrendered in Nusaybin 311 On 5 November 17 PKK militants in ongoing Turkish military operations were killed 14 in Sirnak and 3 in Hakkari 311 On 20 November 12 PKK militants were killed in by a Turkish military drone strike in Daglica 329 On 29 November Security forces killed at least 10 PKK insurgents in Sirnak 330 December edit On 2 December a military operation left 3 soldiers dead and another 3 were wounded in Hakkari Province Turkey 20 PKK militants were killed or captured as well during the operation 331 On 10 December a twin PKK linked suicide bombing attack in Istanbul against riot police maintaining security for a Besiktas soccer game killed 36 police officers and 8 civilians Following the attack hundreds of suspects were arrested including dozens of pro Kurdish HDP party members 332 A Turkish fighter jet crashed near an airport in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir on 12 Dec the military said but the pilot was able to safely eject from the plane According to a government spokesman the plane had fallen due to a possible technical malfunction 333 Also PKK militants took responsibility for the downed Turkish jet 334 On 17 December a PKK linked group carried out another attack in Kayseri using a car bomb to ram a public bus full of off duty paratrooper commandos killed 14 troops 2017 timeline 335 editJanuary edit On 5 January a shootout in Izmir kills two gunmen During the shootout a car bomb explodes killing a police officer and court employee Veysi Kaynak states that the discovery of more weapons on the scene suggests that a larger attack was foiled Provincial governor Erol Ayyildiz blames the attack on the PKK 336 On 13 and 14 January at least 57 PKK fighters were killed and scores of others injured in Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq the Turkish General Staff said in a statement Although it could not be independently verified 337 Crisis group puts overall casualties at 30 people killed including 16 PKK militants 11 security personnel and 3 civilians for the month of January 335 February edit Overall 31 people died including 27 PKK militants and 4 civilians 335 March edit On 9 March 19 PKK fighters and one Turkish soldier were killed in military operations in southeastern Diyarbakir and eastern Bingol provinces that was launched by Turkey on 5 March 338 Overall 92 people died including 82 PKK militants 8 security forces personnel and 2 civilians April edit On 24 April 90 YPG Jezidi YBS and Peshmerga fighters were killed in an air raid conducted by the Turkish Air Force against targets in Syria and Iraq Turkish authorities state YPG militants are directly affiliated with the PKK 339 On 29 April 45 PKK militants were killed in airstrikes by the Turkish Air Force against militant targets in Iraq 340 Overall 108 people died including 84 PKK militants 23 security forces personnel and one civilian May edit Overall 64 people died including 41 PKK militants 21 security forces personnel and two civilians June edit Overall 90 people died including 61 PKK militants 28 security forces personnel and one civilian July edit Overall 96 people died including 74 PKK militants 12 security forces personnel and 10 civilians August edit Overall 67 people died including 44 PKK militants 14 security forces personnel and 9 civilians September edit Overall 102 people died including 79 PKK militants 12 security forces personnel and 11 civilians October edit Overall 48 people died including 25 PKK militants 17 security forces personnel and 6 civilians November edit Overall 77 people died including 61 PKK militants 14 security forces personnel and 2 civilians December edit Overall 26 people died including 22 PKK militants 4 security forces personnel 2018 timeline 335 editJanuary edit Further information Turkish military intervention in Afrin and Turkish occupation of northern Syria nbsp Protest in London against Turkish military operation in Afrin 31 March 2018 On 20 January 2018 the Turkish military began an attack in the Afrin region of Syria code named by Turkey as Operation Olive Branch Turkish Zeytin Dali Harekati The offensive is against the Kurdish led Democratic Union Party PYD in Syria 341 its armed wing People s Protection Units YPG and Syrian Democratic Forces SDF positions surrounding the Syrian city of Afrin Turkey also says it is fighting ISIL 342 though ISIL does not exist in Afrin 343 344 345 346 Afrin and the surrounding area is claimed by the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria as the Afrin Region It is the first major military operation by Turkey in Syria since Operation Euphrates Shield February edit Overall 17 people were killed including 10 PKK militants and 7 security personnel 335 March edit Overall 81 people were killed including 61 PKK militants 18 security personnel and two civilians April edit Overall 63 people were killed including 46 PKK militants 16 security personnel and one civilian May edit Overall 40 people were killed including 27 PKK militants 11 security personnel and two civilians June edit Overall 95 people were killed including 71 PKK militants 23 security personnel and one civilian July edit Overall 93 people were killed including 82 PKK militants 7 security personnel and four civilians August edit 15 August a Turkish airstrike killed Zeki Shengali as they bombed mourners returning from en event remembering Yazidi victims of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL 347 Overall 72 people were killed including 58 PKK militants 12 security personnel and two civilians 335 September edit Overall 56 people were killed including 50 PKK militants 4 security personnel and two civilians nbsp SDF controlled territory green and Turkish occupied territory red in December 2018 October edit Overall 30 people were killed including 15 PKK militants 13 security personnel and two civilians November edit On 1 November US officials confirmed that US and Turkish military forces had conducted two joint patrols on the outskirts of Manbij Syria which is held by the Manbij Military Council MMC MMC reported that YPG aligned militants left the city 348 Overall 45 people were killed including 34 PKK militants 10 security personnel and one civilians citation needed December edit Turkey has amassed troops and tanks on the outskirts of Manbij announcing an intention to drive out the PKK from that city On 24 December US President Donald Trump announced that he would order the withdrawal of the approximately 2 000 US service members on the ground in Syria in support of the YPG campaign against ISIS On 28 December YPG tweeted an invitation to Syrian Arab Army SAA to enter SDF held territory around Manbij for the purpose of countering an anticipated invasion by Turkish backed forces in the absence of US support 349 The SAA has moved into the SDF front lines facing Turkish held areas to the east of Manbij US French and British forces are still present in the front lines to the north of the city 350 2019 timeline editJanuary edit On 4 January 2019 one Turkish soldier was killed and one PKK militant was neutralized wounded killed captured and two others were injured in an attack which took place near Emince village of Aralik district located in Igdir province bordering Iran according to Hurriyet Daily News and Anadolu Agency 351 On 23 January 2019 the PKK reportedly kidnapped four people who crossed the Sarzeri border crossing in Duhok province Because of this Turkey decided to close the border gate 352 13 days later the border gate was reopened 353 On 24 January 2019 the Turkish Armed Forces conducted airstrikes against the PKK in the region of Sheladiz village Dohuk province According to Kurdistan24 four civilians were killed in the strikes whereas Mevlut Cavusoglu the Turkish Foreign Minister said that the strikes were successful and PKK got disturbed 354 355 Locals protested against both the Turkish military and the PKK demanding to move their fight elsewhere and attacked a Turkish military base which resulted in the death of two according to New Generation Movement one protester s and in the injury of several more as well as partial damage to some equipment and vehicles in the base Cavusoglu said They the PKK are disturbed by these They started provoking local people We know that there is PKK behind this He stated he had a telephone conversation with Nechirvan Barzani Nechirvan Barzani late Saturday The KRG Kurdistan Regional Government expressed concerns over the protests They stated there is a disruptive hand behind the events 356 The Iraqi Foreign Ministry condemned the Turkish forces opening fire on the protesters and summoned Turkey s ambassador to Baghdad However the Foreign Ministry also condemned the use of its territory to threaten the security and safety of any neighboring country 357 The Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Since they PKK terrorists realized that they cannot fight against Turkish soldiers they try to provoke the innocent locals He also stated Our effective operations will continue without interruption All these provocations will be defeated and we will clear the area off terrorists 358 An NRT News team was arrested by KRG authorities when they were filming in front of the Dohuk Emergency Hospital to report on the condition of the injured protesters and several other NRT staff was arrested as well They were all released later 359 March edit On 16 March 2019 two Turkish soldiers were killed and eight more were wounded after an assault Turkey stated that six PKK fighters were neutralized during the incident 360 On 20 March 2019 one Turkish soldier was killed in the southeastern part of Sirnak province by an IED while carrying out a search operation Another soldier was wounded because of the explosion 361 April edit On 19 April 2019 four Turkish soldiers were killed and six were wounded near Iraqi Kurdistan s border The Turkish Defense Ministry said they were working to determine whether there were Kurdish casualties 362 On the same day and on 20 April 2019 Turkish police used violence against Kurdish mothers protesting in solidarity with political prisoners in Kocaeli and in Turkey s Mardin province Lawmakers in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Sezgin Tanrikulu and Gursel Tekin expressed their concerns about the event in Kocaeli 363 On 26 April 2019 five PKK militants were neutralized in Diyarbakir s Lice region 364 On 29 April 2019 Turkish jets bombarded the Kurdistan Region s Chamanke district in Duhok province No human casualties were reported 365 On 30 April 2019 five PKK militants were neutralized in Siirt 366 May edit On 1 May 2019 five PKK militants were killed in the Amanos mountains in Hatay province 367 On 4 May 2019 three Turkish soldiers were killed after a PKK mortar attack in the Sherwan Mazin region in Erbil Province After the attack gunfire was heard in the area and Turkish gunships began to target suspected elements of PKK The heaviest clashes occurred around Chama village Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said 23 PKK militants were killed in the pursuit 368 On 20 May 2019 it was reported that the Turkish forces have been locked in days of clashes in the Sidekan area of Erbil Governorate Neither side has disclosed casualty figures yet 369 On 27 May 2019 Turkish Armed Forces launched a counter terrorism operation Operation Claw 2019 2020 in northern Iraq to destroy caves and shelters used by PKK militants 370 Overall 69 people died in the month of May 49 PKK militants 17 security forces and 3 civilians 335 June edit Overall 91 people died including 70 PKK militants 15 security forces and 6 civilians 335 July edit Overall 97 people died including 80 PKK militants 13 security forces and 4 civilians 335 August edit Overall 53 people died including 38 PKK militants 13 security forces and 2 civilians 335 On 19 August the mayors of the cities Mardin Ahmet Turk Diyarbakir Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli and Van Bedia Ozgokce Ertan all three from the HDP where dismissed by the Turkish Government The same day also hundreds of HDP politicians and members were detained 371 September edit Overall 70 people died including 51 PKK militants 9 security forces and 10 civilians 335 October edit On 9 October the Operation Peace Spring began Overall 33 people died including 28 PKK militants and 5 security forces 335 November edit 21 PKK militants were killed in November 335 December edit Overall 8 people died including 3 PKK militants 4 security forces and 1 civilian 335 2020 timeline editJanuary edit Overall 7 people died including 2 PKK militants and 5 security forces 335 February edit Overall 5 people died including 4 PKK militants and 1 civilian 335 March edit Overall 9 people died including 5 PKK militants 2 security forces and 2 civilians 335 April edit Overall 19 people died including 11 PKK militants 2 security forces and 6 civilians 335 May edit Overall 39 people died including 29 PKK militants 5 security forces and 5 civilians 335 June edit Overall 54 people died including 46 PKK militants 4 security forces and 4 civilians 335 July edit Overall 41 people died including 33 PKK militants 6 security forces and 2 civilians 335 August edit Overall 53 people died including 44 PKK militants 7 security forces and 2 civilians 335 September edit Overall 39 people died including 31 PKK militants 7 security forces and 1 civilian 335 October edit On 26 October two PKK militants ambushed the police in Iskenderun and one of them detonated the bombs on him injuring 1 police officer and 2 civilians 372 373 Overall 12 people died including 7 PKK militants 2 security forces and 3 civilians 335 November edit Overall 9 people died including 3 PKK militants 1 security force and 5 civilians 335 2021 timeline editJanuary edit Throughout January 2021 Turkey began threatening Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government about an attack towards Iraqi and Kurdish forces in Sinjar 374 On 11 January 2021 the Ministry of Interior announced that the Eren Operations page needed started Operations were named in honor and memory of 15 year old boy Eren Bulbul who was killed by PKK members on 11 August 2017 The first of the operations called Eren 1 Tendurek Operation 1 071 personnel and 72 operational teams consisting of Gendarmerie Commando Gendarmerie Special Operations JOH Police Special Operations POH and security village guard teams took part to eliminate the insurgents in the Mount Tendurek area 375 376 On 20 January 2021 the Ministry of Interior announced that the continuation of Eren Operations Eren Operations page needed is carried out in Lice Eren 2 Lice Operation in which 2 024 personnel and 116 operational teams took part was initiated 377 378 On 23 January 2021 the Ministry of Interior announced that the continuation of Eren Operations Eren Operations page needed is carried out in Mount Agri Eren 3 Mount Agri Operation Gendarmerie Commando Gendarmerie Special Operations JOH Police Special Operations POH and security village guard teams took part to eliminate the insurgents the Mount Agri area 379 380 On 25 January 2021 the Ministry of Interior announced announces two simultaneous operations while the previous commenced operations continue Eren 4 Karliova Varto and Eren 5 Bagok operations started simultaneously Gendarmerie Commando Gendarmerie Special Operations JOH Police Special Operations POH and security village guard teams took part with 1 620 personnel total 93 operational teams for Karliova Varto area and 2550 personnel total 145 operational teams for Mount Bagok area to clear from insurgents 381 382 February edit Main article Operation Claw Eagle 2 On 2 February 2021 the Ministry of Interior announced that the continuation of Eren Operations Eren Operations page needed is carried out in Bitlis and Siirt area Eren 6 Mergelo in which 1 453 personnel and 82 operational teams took part was initiated 383 384 On 5 February 2021 the Ministry of Interior announced that the continuation of Eren Operations Eren Operations page needed is carried out in Tunceli area Eren 7 Mercan Munzur in which 1 062 personnel and 59 operational teams took part was initiated 385 386 387 On 8 February 2021 the Ministry of Interior announced that the continuation of Eren Operations Eren Operations page needed is carried out in the provinces of Hatay Osmaniye Gaziantep Eren 8 Amanoslar 1 670 personnel and 96 operational teams consisting of Gendarmerie Commando Gendarmerie Special Operations JOH Police Special Operations POH and security village guard teams took part to eliminate the insurgents in the Mount Amanos area 388 389 On 10 February 2021 the Ministry of Interior announced that the continuation of Eren Operations Eren Operations page needed is carried out in the province of Hakkari Province Eren 9 Kazan Han Yaylasi 2 218 personnel and 129 operational teams consisting of Gendarmerie Commando Gendarmerie Special Operations JOH Police Special Operations POH and security village guard teams took part to eliminate the insurgents in the Mount Amanos area 390 391 On 12 February 2021 the Ministry of Interior announced that the continuation of Eren Operations Eren Operations page needed is carried out in the Sirnak Siirt Provinces Eren 10 Gabar 1 073 personnel and 68 operational teams consisting of Gendarmerie Commando Gendarmerie Special Operations JOH Police Special Operations POH and security village guard teams took part to eliminate the insurgents in the Mount Gabar area 379 380 On 14 February 2021 Turkish Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar stated that 13 soldiers and police officers who had been held hostage by the PKK since 2015 and 2016 were executed during an attempted rescue operation in northern Iraq 392 Erdogan blamed the United States and Kurdish politicians for the failed operation 393 while opposition leader Kilicdaroglu accused Erdogan of being responsible for the deaths 394 The Turkish Human Rights Association who previously facilitated the return of hostages from the PKK stated their offers to help negotiate were rejected by state officials 395 The PKK originally claimed the hostages were killed by Turkish airstrikes 393 396 While the United States originally appeared ambiguous about who it believed bore responsibility for the deaths Secretary of State Antony Blinken later stated that Washington view the PKK responsible 397 The father of one deceased hostage Semih Ozbey was summoned to identify his son and according to the Turkish Human Rights Association president stated he saw a bullet wound in his son s head 397 In an interview with Sozcu the father noted he believed the hostages were executed but was only shown a picture of his son s face and was refused seeing his body He added that during his sons imprisonment he spoke repeatedly to both HDP MPs and Erdogan to no avail 398 The PKK later revised their claim to say that Turkey used poison gas which resulted in the captives deaths who were then executed so that the blame could be put on us 399 On 24 February 2021 the Ministry of Interior announced that the continuation of Eren Operations Eren Operations page needed is carried out in the Bitlis Siirt Provinces Eren 11 Sehi Frrest 781 personnel and 51 operational teams consisting of Gendarmerie Commando Gendarmerie Special Operations JOH Police Special Operations POH and security village guard teams took part to eliminate the insurgents in the forest Sehi area 400 401 March edit On 30 March 2021 The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that the Eren 12 Gulesli operation in which 317 personnel consisting of Gendarmerie Special Operations Police Special Operations and Village Security Guard teams took part started in order to neutralize the insurgents staying in the Sirnak and Siirt area 402 403 404 405 April edit On 23 April 2021 Turkey launched a ground air operation in northern Iraq Targets located in Qandil Zap Gara and Avasin Basyan were destroyed by the Turkish Air Force and artillery tasked by the Turkish Army 406 407 May edit On 3 May 2021 Turkish Ministry of Defence announced the neutralization of 7 PKK militants This has made the total loss of PKK throughout the Operation Claw Lightning and Claw Thunderbolt 53 According to the Turkish officials sixteen weapons and 3 000 ammunition have also been confiscated from the PKK militants and depots 408 On 12 May 2021 Turkish Ministry of Defence announced the neutralization of 5 PKK militants during an air strike 409 September edit On September 11 a Turkish soldier was killed and another was injured during a PKK attack on a Turkish military vehicle in the Operation Pence Simsek zone 410 2022 timeline editApril edit On April 17 Turkey Launches military Operation Claw Lock against Kurdistan Workers Party in Northern Iraq 411 412 May edit On 17 May in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Sweden s foreign minister signed Sweden s application to join NATO following Finland s earlier intention to join NATO On 18 May 2022 both countries formally applied to join NATO Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced his opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO saying that it would be impossible for Turkey to support their application while the two countries allow groups which Turkey classifies as terrorist organizations including the Kurdish militant groups Kurdistan Workers Party PKK and People s Defense Units YPG and the supporters of Fethullah Gulen a US based Muslim cleric accused by Turkey of orchestrating a failed 2016 Turkish coup d etat attempt to operate on their territory 413 414 415 June edit On June 12 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the Turkish government has legitimate concerns over agreeing to admit Sweden and Finland into NATO These are legitimate concerns this is about terrorism it s about weapons exports said Stoltenberg alongside Finnish President Sauli Niinisto We have to remember and understand that no NATO ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey 32 2023 timeline editFebruary edit On 1 February attackers fired eight rockets at a Turkish military base in northern Iraq with two of them landing inside 416 April edit On 7 April Iraq demanded an apology from Turkey after an apparent drone strike near an airport in Sulaymaniyah US military officials claimed the strike was aimed at a convoy carrying American personnel No casualties were reported from the incident 417 On 15 April two PKK fighters were killed and two others were wounded when a Turkish drone struck their vehicle near the Iranian border 418 July edit On 9 July two Turkish soldiers were killed by PKK militants in northern Iraq 419 On 10 July Kurdish militants attacked Turkish backed fighters south of Afrin killing five of them 420 On 29 July two Turkish airstrikes killed eight Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria 421 August edit On 10 August Turkey s defense ministry announced that six Turkish soldiers were killed by Kurdish militants in fighting that started the previous day Turkey responded with airstrikes that killed four PKK members 422 On 11 August a Turkish drone strike in northern Iraq killed three PKK members including a senior official 423 On 24 August Turkish drone attacks in northern Iraq killed seven people including a PKK official 424 September edit On 15 September two fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces were killed in a Turkish drone strike and two others were wounded 425 On 16 September a drone fired from the Turkish border struck a military airport in Arbid killing three members of Iraq s counter terrorism service and wounding three others 426 On 18 September the Syrian Democratic Forces carried out an attack on a Turkish backed opposition group in northern Syria killing 13 militants 427 October edit On 1 October a PKK attacker blew himself up outside the Ministry of the Interior in Ankara while a second attacker was killed by police 428 Two police officers were injured during the incident 428 In response Turkey carried out air strikes against 20 Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq 428 On October 3 police raids took place in 64 provinces of Turkey According to Minister of the Interior Ali Yerlikaya s reports 928 people were detained of which at least 90 are allegedly associated with the PKK 429 430 On 5 October at least 11 people were killed in Turkish airstrikes in Kurdish controlled areas in northern Syria including five civilians 431 On 7 October Turkish forces killed 58 Kurdish militants in overnight attacks 432 On 25 October ten PKK militants were killed by Turkish drone strikes in northern Iraq 433 November edit On 4 November Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish military infrastructure killed 15 militants 434 On 17 November Turkey s defense ministry announced that it carried out airstrikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq killing 13 of them 435 December edit 11 December A mine planted by the PKK exploded on a road in Aleppo s Manbij District killing two agricultural workers and injuring 19 civilians 436 Unidentified gunmen killed Ahmet Gun an executive of the Peoples Equality and Democracy Party and injured his son in Sirnak 437 On 22 December a PKK infiltration attempt of 1st Hakkari Mountain Commando Brigade base left six dead and six wounded Turkish soldiers 438 23 December 5 PKK militants were killed by Turkish commandos while preparing for an attack in Euphrates Shield region 439 Six Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdish militants 440 25 December The Turkish defense ministry said it killed at least 26 Kurdish militants throughout Iraq and Syria during an escalation of airstrikes in retaliation for the deaths of 12 Turkish soldiers during the weekend 440 At least eight civilians were killed by Turkish airstrikes in northeastern Syria 440 2024 timeline editJanuary edit 13 January 9 Turkish soldiers were killed and 8 wounded after infiltration attempt to base in Zab by PKK militants 441 February edit On 25 February a Turkish military drone strike killed 4 PKK militants in Gara Northern Iraq 442 March edit On 16 March 2 PKK militants were killed in northern Iraq 443 On 25 March Turkish airstrikes on Northern Iraq killed 2 PKK militants 444 April edit On 24 April Turkish airstrikes on Northern Iraq killed 6 PKK militants 445 Impact editCivilian impact edit nbsp Cizre ruins in March 2016 nbsp Protest in London 31 March 2018 According to Turkish Human Rights Foundation there have been 52 intermittent curfews in seven predominantly Kurdish towns where 1 3 million people live sometimes lasting as long as 14 days The organization puts the civilian death toll since the summer of 2015 at 124 446 The situation in the South East has little coverage in the Turkish media The authorities have enforced a blockade over the region and have shut down both cell phone coverage and the internet Hundreds of houses dozens of schools and official buildings have been damaged by artillery and gun fire from militants 447 and civilians have been reportedly fired at Turkish Forces have used measures like tank fire to clear out bomb trapped barricades which lead to damage of residential buildings 448 It is estimated that more than 200 000 people have been displaced According to the HRW civilian death toll is around 100 Diyarbakir branch of the Human Rights Association said Turkish Armed Forces and Gendarmerie was targeting civilians under the pretext of fighting terrorism 449 Many residents in the southeastern cities have been trapped without food or electricity as clashes between Kurdish militants and Turkish security forces have intensified In December 2015 town of Cizre was under curfew for more than two weeks with mounting civilian casualties According to a teacher from the district of Silopi some residential buildings were damaged by tank shells 450 Internal reactions edit Academics petition edit Main article Academics for Peace On 11 January 2016 more than 1000 scholars and academics from 90 Turkish Universities and abroad signed a petition entitled We won t be a party to this crime 451 calling for an end to the government s crackdown on the Kurdish activists and politicians and a resumption of the peace process They also criticized the use of tanks in urban centers calling it a deliberate massacre of Kurdish people 452 On 12 January Recep Tayyip Erdogan sharply criticized the dissident academics which included David Harvey Immanuel Wallerstein Slavoj Zizek and Noam Chomsky and said they were from the fifth column of foreign powers 453 He also called on the Turkish judiciary to move against the treachery All 1 228 Turkish signatories were subsequently placed under investigation 451 Erdogan invited Chomsky to visit the area in a televised speech to a conference of Turkish ambassadors in Ankara However Chomsky rejected the offer and said If I decide to go to Turkey it will not be on his invitation but as frequently before at the invitation of the many courageous dissidents including Kurds who have been under severe attack for many years He also said Erdogan was aiding ISIS and the al Nusra Front 454 On 14 January the Duzce University in northwest Turkey dismissed an associate sociology professor after she signed the declaration and on 15 January Erdogan attacked the signatories again said they were supporting the Kurdish militants and said having a PhD title doesn t necessarily make you an intellectual These are people in the dark They are cruel and despicable 455 That same day Turkish authorities arrested 14 signatories including 12 academics from Kocaeli University said they were spreading terrorism propaganda and of insulting the state 456 U S Ambassador John Bass released a statement expressing his concern regarding the arrests He also said Expressions of concern about violence do not equal support for terrorism Criticism of government does not equal treason 457 On 16 January main opposition leader Kemal Killicdaroglu sharply criticized Erdogan over detention of dissident academics and called him a dictator Two days later lawyers for Turkish President filed a lawsuit against him and a prosecutor from the Ankara prosecutors office also launched an investigation into his comments on charges of openly insulting the president a crime punishable by up to four years in jail 458 459 Resignation of UNESCO Ambassador edit On 25 May 2016 Turkish author and poet Zulfu Livaneli resigned as Turkey s only UNESCO goodwill ambassador In his post on Twitter he said UNESCO s silence on human rights violations and lack of fundamental freedoms and he also refused to take part in the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul He highlighted destruction of the historical Sur district of Diyarbakir as his main reason for resignation 460 When Kurdish region Sur s historical heritage is being destroyed I can t with a straight face urge people to protect the historical heritage of Istanbul Protests in New York edit On 31 March 2016 during a public speech by Erdogan at the Brookings Institution his supporters and opponents clashed outside the venue His security guards assaulted Brooking s employees and ordered a well known Turkish journalist Amberin Zaman to leave calling her a P K K whore Security staff members had to stop the guards from removing other journalists from inside the auditorium Some Turkish guards were restrained by police officers 461 National Press Club released a statement and expressed alarm at the events 462 Turkey s leader and his security team are guests in the United States They have no right to lay their hands on reporters or protesters or anyone else for that matter when the people they are apparently roughing up seemed to be merely doing their jobs or exercising the rights they have in this country U S State Department 2016 Human Rights Report edit According to the report in February 2016 Turkish security forces killed at least 130 people including unarmed civilians who had taken shelter in the basements of three buildings in the town of Cizre A domestic NGO The Human Rights Association HRA said the security forces killed more than 300 civilians in the first eight months of 2016 It also reported retrieval of 171 bodies from three basements in Cizre after 5 February The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey HRF reported that during the 79 day curfew in Cizre close to 200 people were killed On 3 March 2016 HRF s president Șebnem Korur Fincanci found a human jawbone in the remains of a basement in the Sur district of Diyarbakir where according to HRA seven people were killed in February 2016 463 International reactions edit nbsp Council of Europe On 14 April 2016 Nils Muiznieks the council s human rights commissioner said after visiting the city of Diyarbakir 464 Respect for human rights has deteriorated at an alarming speed in recent months in the context of Turkey s fight against terrorism nbsp Protest in Berlin against Turkey s military offensive on 10 October 2019 nbsp European Union The EU has frequently called for an immediate ceasefire 465 and urged all sides to renew the settlement process with the Kurdish minority in Turkey 466 On 7 March 2016 EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said citation needed There is a need to restart the Kurdish peace process The European Union recognizes that PKK is a terrorist organization but there is a need to re engage from the Turkish authorities side with the Kurdish political representatives and the ones that express their position in a peaceful way The European Parliament has been highly critical with respect to human rights abuses and denial of political dialogue with respect to the Kurdish issue under the cloak of fight against terrorism in Turkey 464 467 468 The institutions of the European Union have persistently criticized the broad application of anti terror legislation as well as a criminal law against denigrating Turkishness in Turkey as stifling peaceful advocacy for Kurdish rights 469 470 nbsp Germany On 19 January 2016 German Ambassador to Turkey Martin Erdmann has voiced Berlin s unconditional support to Ankara s ongoing fight against the outlawed Kurdistan workers Party PKK while underlining that a final and permanent solution to the Kurdish issue could only be found on political grounds The Ambassador quoted Fighting against the PKK and defending itself against the PKK is Turkey s most natural right However according to the German federal government s conviction this problem can reach a final and permanent result only on a political platform Conflict in Turkey s south east has often reflected on Germany s Turkish and Kurdish minorities causing mass riots and the build up of ethnic tensions within Germany 471 source source source source source source source source track Joint press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Turkish minister of foreign affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu 11 October 2019 nbsp NATO On 7 July 2015 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed solidarity with Turkey after an emergency session of the military alliance s 28 ambassadors in Brussels Stoltenberg also expressed NATO is watching the developments very closely 472 In October 2019 Turkey invaded the Kurdish areas in Syria Stoltenberg said that Turkey has legitimate security concerns during press conference with Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu 473 nbsp Netherlands On 13 September 2016 Dutch police announced that they would register supports and sympathizers of the PKK into the national police database 298 nbsp Russia Russia has frequently said Turkish statements of Russian support to the PKK were not true and called on Turkey to politically solve its Kurdistan Issue for example in this quote of the Russian Foreign Ministry on 5 June 2016 474 We understand that it is difficult for current Turkish leadership to abandon attempts to explain their domestic problems by certain external factors With the civil conflict with the Kurdish population unremitting President Erdogan has not found a better justification for toughening the punitive operations in the Kurdish populated southeast than to accuse Russia of supplying arms to the Kurdistan Workers Party nbsp United Kingdom On 14 January 2016 the British Ambassador to Turkey issued a statement on the behalf of the British government condemning the PKK while calling on the militant organization to halt its attacks against Turkey The Ambassador stated 475 Let me emphasize that we condemn PKK terrorism absolutely But we don t just make statements we are also actively clamping down on PKK financing in the U K and doing our utmost to disrupt their international network and operations nbsp United Nations In May 2016 the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Zeid Ra ad Al Hussein raised an alarm over violence against civilians and reported human rights abuses in predominantly Kurdish south east Turkey 476 He also raised concern over the Turkish government s refusal to allow a UN team to conduct research in the area amid reports that more than a hundred people had burned to death in buildings surrounded by security forces 476 The Commissioner stated More and more information has been emerging from a variety of credible sources about the actions of security forces in the town of Cizre during the extended curfew there from mid December until early March he said in a press release Most disturbing of all are the reports quoting witnesses and relatives in Cizre which suggest that more than 100 people were burned to death as they sheltered in three different basements that had been surrounded by security forces However the Turkish foreign ministry offered an open invitation to U N agencies to visit the country s southeastern provinces after the reports were made and refuted those statements saying they were based on insufficient information 477 According to the UN Commissioner unarmed civilians including women and children were shot by government snipers in the south east during the clashes and Turkish forces also inflicted significant damage on the local infrastructure 478 Turkish sources whose reports were confirmed by the Turkey s foreign ministry had said in late 2015 that the PKK were hiring foreign national snipers to target civilians and high ranking Military personnel in the same region 479 nbsp United States According to Turkish Daily Sabah on 28 April 2016 Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter reportedly confirmed that it believes the YPG militia in the Federation of Northern Syria Rojava which is supported by the United States has some connections with the PKK which is considered a terrorist organization by the U S and NATO He also reportedly said Turkey is upset with the U S s position on Syrian Kurds and that the Obama administration has extensive consultations with the Turks over the issue 480 Vice President Joe Biden called the PKK a terrorist group plain and simple and compared it to the ISIL 481 However the U S support for that secular militia in the Syrian Civil War was even expanded During the May 2016 offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL in Northern Raqqa US Special Operation Forces were widely reported and photographed to be present and to wear badges of YPG and YPJ on their uniforms 482 When in June 2016 the Manbij Offensive of the Syrian Democratic Forces started the Washington Post reported it under the headline of Ignoring Turkey U S backs Kurds in drive against ISIS in Syria 483 The US has stated they don t consider the YPG a terrorist organization 484 See also editCizre operation 2015 Ceylanpinar incident 2015 s Casus belli Hunger strikes in Turkey 2016 2017 Sirnak clashes 2015 2016 2015 Hakkari assault West Iran clashes No friends but the mountains A Modern History of the Kurds by David McDowallReferences edit PKK militant on Turkey s most wanted list killed in southeast Interior Ministry Hurriyet Daily News Anadolu 14 November 2017 Retrieved 6 June 2021 Turkey neutralizes most wanted PKK terrorist in N Iraq Hurriyet Daily News 7 October 2019 Retrieved 7 October 2019 Increasing tensions see resurgence of Turkey s far right street movements Middle East Eye Retrieved 1 May 2016 Kuntz Katrin Belli Onur Burcak Oezmen Emin 12 February 2016 The Growing Intensity of Turkey s Civil War Der Spiegel De Spiegel 1 TSK daki asker sayisi aciklandi a b 233 bin ozel guvenlik 244 bin polis var Gungor Uras Milliyet com tr Retrieved 2 December 2016 Iste TSK nin personel mevcudu Hurriyet Haber 3 October 2015 Turkiye Son 3 Yilda Korucu Sayisini 54 Bine 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