Turkish-Kurdish conflict

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani meets with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, in Ankara, Aug. 6, 2026.

Syria's Shibani updates Turkey on Kurds' integration, slams Israel during Ankara visit

The visit highlighted Ankara's growing influence in post-Assad Syria, with the two neighbors expanding strategic coordination on security and regional affairs.

Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) line up to put their weapons into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on July 11, 2025.

Analysis

How Turkey's PKK amnesty law entwines Kurds' hopes with Erdogan's ambitions

The first legislation to emerge from direct negotiations with Abdullah Ocalan offers a path to ending Turkey's war with the PKK while potentially giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the votes he needs to remain in power for a third term.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Damascus, Aug. 3, 2026. IKRPresident/X

Iraqi Kurdish president’s meeting with Syria’s Sharaa signals shift in SDF dynamics

KRG President Nechirvan Barzani’s meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa underscored the Kurdistan Region’s growing role in Syria’s Kurdish politics.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets Iraq Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi upon his arrival in Ankara, July 28, 2026.

Explainer

Erdogan hosts Zaidi, touts ‘historic step’ in Turkey-Iraq energy ties

The Turkish president outlined Ankara’s priorities with the new Iraqi government during the Iraqi leader’s first visit to Turkey: security, energy cooperation and the Development Road.

Latest News

Zaidi to meet Erdogan as Turkey-Iraq ties take off, Kurds feel sidelined

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (not pictured) at the Pentagon on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.

Interview

PJAK leader mocks Iran’s claim Turkey spiked US Kurdish-backed regime-change plan

A Kurdish fighter from the Iranian Kurdish armed faction Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) stands with his rifle at a site near the Iraqi border with Iran in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on March 8, 2026.

Siamand Moeini

Siamand Moeini

PJAK Executive Council Member

Iran's Araghchi reveals Turkey's role in thwarting Kurdish offensive

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart following a meeting in Baghdad on June 28, 2026.

Culture

Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup

Germany's forward #26 Deniz Undav (2nd R), an ethnic Kurd, scores his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Germany and Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto on June 20, 2026.

Rebel fighters ride a military vehicle on the outskirts of Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) controlled Tell Rifaat town, northern Aleppo province, Syria October 22, 2016. Picture taken October 22, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - S1AEUIPWQCAB

Turkish-backed rebels exchange daily fire with SDF in Aleppo

In the northern countryside of Aleppo, the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, retaliates to the shelling from Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, pushing civilians to leave their homes.

Supporters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) hold and wave political posters and flags in Sulaimaniya, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad July 9, 2009. Iraqi Kurds going to the polls this month are losing interest in age-old battles with Baghdad over land or oil, and starting to care more about corruption plaguing their largely autonomous northern region. Picture taken July 9, 2009. REUTERS/Tim Cokcs (IRAQ POLITICS ELECTIONS CONFLICT) - GM1E57E1QWK01

Why did Turkey expel Iraqi Kurdish leader?

Turkey abruptly shut down the office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which had been in Ankara since the 1990s, following the PKK's reported abduction of Turkish intelligence agents in an area under PUK control.

Members of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), sit with an Arab tribal fighter (L) in a house in the village of Umm al-Dhiban, northern Iraq, April 30, 2016. They share little more than an enemy and struggle to communicate on the battlefield, but together two relatively obscure groups have opened up a new front against Islamic State militants in a remote corner of Iraq. The unlikely alliance between the Sinjar Resistance Units, an offshoot of a le

Turkish silence speaks volumes as PKK points to spy ring

A pro-Kurdistan Workers Party news agency has reported that two Turkish nationals arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan had reported to Turkish intelligence and planned to abduct or assassinate senior PKK figures.