Turkish-Kurdish conflict

A man walks past a mural depicting supporters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), one of them raising a flag showing the face of Abdullah Ocalan — founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) outlawed by Turkey, in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli on Dec. 16, 2024.

Turkey wants PKK leader Ocalan to sway Kurdish-led SDF on joining Syria army

Ankara seeks to leverage peace talks with PKK while renewing threats against the SDF.

Manifest

Culture

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.

US President Donald Trump (L) greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) upon his arrival at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25, 2025.

From F-35s to Ukraine: Erdogan-Trump talks signal reset, but sanctions obstacles remain

The summit underscored both leaders’ personal chemistry while highlighting the limits of what the partnership can deliver.

President Donald Trump (R) speaks with President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), as they arrive for the North Atlantic Council Plenary Session on the second day of the 2025 NATO Summit on June 25, 2025 in The Hague, Netherlands.

Turkey’s Erdogan eyes F-35s, Kurdish concessions in White House talks with Trump

Erdogan is pressing Washington for a return to the F-35 program and a rollback of US support for Kurdish forces, even as Congress signals resistance.

Latest News

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

Richard Moore

UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen steps down after six years

UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Otto Pedersen addresses a press conference in Damascus on Jan. 22, 2025.

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

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.

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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

Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on January 24, 2019. - Any deal between Syria's Kurds and the Damascus regime should respect the "special status" of Kurdish-led forces who fought the Islamic State (IS) group, Kobani said. The SDF control around a third of Syria after expelling jihadists from a large northeastern swathe of t

Can Syria's Kurds reel in Turkey with profits from American oil deal?

The recent deal signed between the SDF and a US oil company is as much about political brinkmanship as oil.

A man walks at a makeshift refinery using burners to distill crude oil in the village of Bishiriya in the countryside near the town of Qahtaniya west of Rumaylan (Rmeilan) in Syria's Kurdish-controlled northeastern Hasakeh province, on July 19, 2020. - Oil pollution in Syria has become a growing concern since the 2011 onset of a civil war that has taken a toll on oil infrastructure and seen rival powers compete over control of key hydrocarbon fields. In the Kurdish-held northeast, a large storage facility i

Turkey joins Syria in slamming oil agreement between US firm, Syrian Kurds

Ankara has spoken out against a new oil agreement between an American-based company and the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Hagia Sophia is open for prayers, but not to Kurds

The Turkish government has deliberately excluded the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party from political and symbolic events ever since July 2015. This has not destroyed Turkey’s third-largest party, but it has contributed to the rise of Kurdophobia.

Turkey helps Moldovan family escape Islamic State camp in Syria

The woman and her family had been living in al-Hol since 2019, but their exact connection to IS is unclear.

TOPSHOT - Supporters of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) party cheer as they celebrate the Kurdish New Year during a campaign rally in Istanbul on March 24, 2019 ahead of the March 31 local elections. - Under daily attack from Turkish President and with dozens of its mayors in jail, HDP is fighting an uphill battle for this month's local elections and hopes to mobilise its supporters in the vote to capture municipal mayor posts and local councils. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)

Another pro-Kurdish mayor replaced as detentions continue in southeast Turkey

Police detained more than 50 people on alleged terror links in southeast Turkey a day after yet another mayor with the People's Democratic Party was replaced with a state-appointed trustee.

Erdogan: Turkey on path to ‘unstoppable power’ in region

Turkish president throws his lot in again with Russia and Iran in Syria, expands plans for influence in North Africa and moves to convert the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.

Intel: US CENTCOM commander meets with head of Syria’s Kurdish forces

The head of Syria’s Kurdish-led militias said he met today with the top commander of US forces in the Middle East, Gen. Frank McKenzie, in northeast Syria.

Assyrians caught in crossfire between Turkey, PKK fighting

Wars, attacks by the Islamic State, pressure from remaining militia groups and now attacks by Turkey have emptied or destroyed many Assyrian communities in northern Iraq.

Sheen Ibrahim, Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) looks for drones operated by Islamic State militants in Raqqa, Syria June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic - RC1D3CB0FA70

Turkish drone strike kills three Kurdish women in Syria

The leader of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces called on the United States and Russian to stop what he called Turkey's "policy of massacres against the Kurds" after last night's drone strike.

A woman pushes a cart loaded with a sack of wheat in Qamishli, Syria September 18, 2017. Picture taken September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said TO MATCH INSIGHT MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-WHEAT-ISLAMIC STATE - RC183B72BD10

Syrian Kurds say Turkish charity dwarfed by stolen produce

As Turkey touts its humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria's Idlib, critics weigh the six truckloads of supplies against its thousands of tons of allegedly looted Syrian grain.

A supporter of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) holds placards during a gathering as part of their "Democracy March", in Istanbul, Turkey June 18, 2020. The placards read that: "All together for democracy, freedom, peace, justice". REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC2UBH9CTB9E

Under pressure, pro-Kurdish party holds democracy rally in Istanbul

Despite a ban on protests, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party held a demonstration in Istanbul Thursday following removal of two deputies from Turkey’s parliament.

UAE condemns Turkish and Iranian military interventions in Iraq

Turkey and Iran are conducting operations against Kurdish groups in the country.

United Arab Emirates