Table of Contents
Who are the Kurds and where do they live?
Before World War I, Kurds lived a nomadic lifestyle until the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, which stripped them of their freedom and divided them across several nation states. Today, there are an estimated 25-30 million Kurds, the majority living in a region that stretches across parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Armenia.
Who are the Kurds in the Syrian-Turkish War?
A Kurdish member of the YPG stands near the Syrian-Turkish border in the Syrian city of al-Derbasiyah.Rodi Said / Reuters. The Turks are isolated, under pressure, the target of terrorists, on the brink of a wider conflict in Syria, and headlong into a diplomatic crisis with the United States.
What is Erdogan’s stance on Kurdish nationalism?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has always adopted a robust attitude against Kurdish nationalism. The President made it clear that his ultimate goal is to eliminate the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish far-left militant and political organization based in Turkey and Iraq that fought the Turkish state for more than three decades.
What is the difference between Sunni and Kurdish?
Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but the Kurdish population has diverse cultural, social, religious and political traditions as well as a variety of dialects. The Kurds have never achieved nation-state status, except in Iraq, where they have a regional government called Iraqi Kurdistan.
Who are the Kurds? Between 25 and 35 million Kurds inhabit a mountainous region straddling the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia. They make up the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, but they have never obtained a permanent nation state.
What is the history of the Kurdish nation?
In the early 20th Century, many Kurds began to consider the creation of a homeland – generally referred to as “Kurdistan”. After World War One and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the victorious Western allies made provision for a Kurdish state in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres.
How did the US help the Kurds in Iraq?
In response, a US-led multinational coalition launched air strikes in northern Iraq and sent military advisers to help the Peshmerga. The YPG and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for three decades and has bases in Iraq, also came to their aid.
What is the relationship between the Kurds and the Turkish state?
There is deep-seated hostility between the Turkish state and the country’s Kurds, who constitute 15\% to 20\% of the population. Kurds received harsh treatment at the hands of the Turkish authorities for generations.