Kurds

BARBOD KHORSHIDI/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Grenade attack on IRGC kills 2 in Iran’s Kurdistan province: What to know

The deadly assault comes amid recurring tensions and clashes in Iran’s Kurdish-majority western region.

Manifest

Turkey's women, LGBTQ artists top targets of Erdogan's drive for cultural hegemony

From pop stars to performers, Turkey’s secular arts scene faces increasing pressure under Erdogan’s conservative push.

Richard Moore

UK’s top spy uses farewell from Turkey to lure Russian recruits, sparks fury

The outgoing MI6 chief called on Russians with "truths to share" to contact the agency, sparking diplomatic unease just days before Erdogan’s White House meeting.

Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin gives a press conference following talks with Sweden and Finland over their bids to join NATO at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on May 25, 2022.

Turkey’s spy chief in Damascus as Israel, Syria weigh new security map

Ibrahim Kalin’s visit comes as Israel presses Syria on a buffer zone plan and Turkey frets over Kurdish autonomy.

Latest News

Syria holds first post‑Assad parliamentary vote: What to know

Interim Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa appears in the Citadel of Aleppo in Syria, on May 27, 2025.

Exclusive

UK-based oil firm victim of standoff between Damascus, Syria’s Kurds

This picture shows pumpjacks in an oil field and smoke plumes rising in the background, following reported Turkish drone strikes near the town of al-Qahtaniyah in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province, close to the border with Turkey, on Nov. 23, 2022.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM party to meet jailed PKK leader Ocalan

Kurdish Syrians demonstrate in the Syrian eastern city of Qamishli to demand the release of the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan in Turkey, on May 29, 2025.

Analysis

Iraqi Kurdish factional feuds erupt anew with violent arrest of Lahur Talabani

Smoke billows over a neighborhood of Sulaimaniyah, east of the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, after security forces arrested opposition figure Lahur Sheikh Jangi, following several hours of armed clashes on Aug. 22, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Thick smoke billows from a raging fire at a storage tank of the al-Awda oil field facility near al-Qahtaniyah in northeastern Syria close to the Turkish border on Dec. 24, 2023, a day after a reported Turkish strike.

Turkey pummels Kurds in Syria over Ankara attack amid overtures to PKK leader Ocalan

The timing of the attacks has spurred speculation that hawks on both sides are seeking to torpedo efforts to end the conflict between the Turkish army and the PKK.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets KRG leader Nechirvan Barzani in Ankara, on Oct. 16, 2024.

Turkey’s Erdogan meets KRG President Barzani ahead of Iraqi Kurdistan vote

Barzani’s visit comes just amid Turkey's nascent attempt to use diplomacy, alongside ongoing military measures, to solve the 40-year-old Kurdish conflict.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus on July 20, 2024 in occupied northern Nicosia, Cyprus.

Turkey’s Erdogan confirms 'political softening' with pro-Kurdish party

The statement comes amid a public debate on the possible revival of a process aiming to settle the country’s 40-year-old Kurdish problem through peaceful means.

Supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples DEM Party attend a rally for the Turkish Municipal elections to be held on March 31, in Esenyurt Square, in Istanbul on Feb. 25, 2024.

Exclusive

Turkey mulls peace talks with Kurds amid fears of Israeli strike on Iran

Three well-placed sources told Al-Monitor that exploratory talks for a possible resumption of negotiations between the Turkish government and imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan were already underway.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey's right-wing Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli greets the crowd during the party's 12th Ordinary Grand Congress in Ankara, on March 18, 2018.

Analysis

A surprise handshake in Turkey's parliament: Nationalist-Kurdish thaw or political maneuver?

The escalating conflict in the region — among other considerations — has prompted unexpected handshakes between two foes in Turkey: pro-Kurdish DEM Party lawmakers and Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters from the Turkish-backed 1st Corps of the Samarkand Brigade take part in a military parade in the opposition-held Afrin region of northern Syria, on Nov. 23, 2022.

Interview

Syrian-Kurdish KNC leader decries abuse by Turkey-backed Sunni factions in Afrin

Kurdish National Council President Sleiman Oso told Al-Monitor that dialogue with his group's rivals, the PYD, is still possible.

Sleiman Oso

Sleiman Oso

Kurdish National Council President

Women and a child queue to receive humanitarian aid packages at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp.

Analysis

How ISIS brides held by Syria’s Kurds are smuggled to suitors in Europe

The women are finding their prospective husbands on the internet using smuggled mobile phones.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

SAFIN HAMID/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Iran’s Pezeshkian concludes 'historic' visit to Iraq with talks on trade, border security

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian emphasized Iraq’s economic and security significance to the Islamic Republic in his visit, though he did not visit Sunni areas.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

This handout picture provided by the Iranian Army office on Dec. 24, 2023, shows soldiers attending the unveiling ceremony of a new missile system.

Iran’s new air base near border with Turkey: What we know

The unveiling of the base near the Turkish border comes amid Iranian concerns about Azerbaijan and Kurdish groups in Iraq.

In this picture taken on April 25, 2023, mountains overlook the village of Hiror near the Turkish border in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, where firefights occur between the Turkish army and fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkish soldier killed in PKK clash in Iraqi Kurdistan as Baghdad presses Ankara to withdraw

Recent civilian deaths have reignited calls from Iraqi officials for the withdrawal of thousands of Turkish troops deployed across Iraqi Kurdistan.

The mother (C) and father (2-R) of one of two women journalists killed in a drone strike walk past Kurdish Asayish security forces.

Civilian toll rises in Turkey’s attacks against Kurdish militants in Iraq

The recent spike in Turkish attacks comes at an especially critical time as Iraq's Kurdistan Region prepares to hold long-delayed parliamentary elections.

Iraqi security forces monitor the area during a demonstration to demand the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the Bashiqa camp, located in the Mosul province, on Oct. 8, 2016, outside the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad.

Analysis

Turkey’s security pact with Iraq: Which side came out on top?

The most contested presence for Baghdad is the military base established by Turkish forces in 2015 near the Iraqi town of Bashiqa.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture