World Conflicts
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Turkey-PKK conflict

Ceasefire Low intensity Internationalized intrastate Middle East 15 Aug 1984 to present

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) waged an insurgency against Turkey from 1984, with fighting extending into northern Iraq. After jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan's 2025 call to disarm, the PKK declared a ceasefire, announced its dissolution and began symbolic weapons handovers. In August 2026 Turkey's parliament passed a reintegration law; full implementation awaits verified disarmament.

Conflict zones

Click a shape for details and sources

Zones, lines of contact and strike arcs are approximate and illustrative, drawn from public reporting. They are not authoritative; click a shape for its sources. Borders from Natural Earth, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine in line with UN General Assembly resolution 68/262.

Key facts

PKK ceasefire declared
1 Mar 2025
CFR Global Conflict Tracker as of 29 Jul 2026
Fighters at first weapons-burning ceremony
~30 (11 Jul 2025)
CNN as of 11 Jul 2025
Parliament vote on reintegration law
467 for, 88 against
Balkan Insight as of 11 Aug 2026
Reported fatalities, last 4 weeks (ACLED)
1
ACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026

Human cost

Fatalities
40K
People displaced
All forcibly displaced, country-wide (UNHCR)
1.6M
Recorded events, last 30 days
8

Parties and actors

  • Turkish Armed Forces State armed forces
  • Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Non-state armed group

Parties are listed factually by name and role. Inclusion does not imply any judgement.

Negotiations

Negotiations hub
PKK disarmament and reintegration process Active talks
Parties
Government of Turkey, PKK, DEM Party
Mediators
None reported
Last development
11 Aug 2026

Parliament approved the 'Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration', allowing sentence suspensions and reintegration once Turkey's National Security Council confirms the PKK has fully disbanded and surrendered weapons.

Balkan Insight as of 11 Aug 2026

Trend: events and reported fatalities by month

Events per month Reported fatalities per month
0 0 250 50 500 100 750 150 1K 200Nov 2021: 118 events, 26 reported fatalitiesDec 2021: 163 events, 32 reported fatalitiesJan 2022: 120 events, 7 reported fatalities2022Feb 2022: 115 events, 8 reported fatalitiesMar 2022: 107 events, 5 reported fatalitiesApr 2022: 400 events, 66 reported fatalitiesMay 2022: 504 events, 101 reported fatalitiesJun 2022: 472 events, 67 reported fatalitiesJul 2022: 572 events, 104 reported fatalitiesAug 2022: 396 events, 58 reported fatalitiesSep 2022: 388 events, 50 reported fatalitiesOct 2022: 429 events, 36 reported fatalitiesNov 2022: 296 events, 84 reported fatalitiesDec 2022: 304 events, 41 reported fatalitiesJan 2023: 214 events, 39 reported fatalities2023Feb 2023: 112 events, 9 reported fatalitiesMar 2023: 169 events, 22 reported fatalitiesApr 2023: 250 events, 17 reported fatalitiesMay 2023: 252 events, 31 reported fatalitiesJun 2023: 336 events, 30 reported fatalitiesJul 2023: 418 events, 35 reported fatalitiesAug 2023: 211 events, 43 reported fatalitiesSep 2023: 395 events, 26 reported fatalitiesOct 2023: 368 events, 53 reported fatalitiesNov 2023: 381 events, 41 reported fatalitiesDec 2023: 463 events, 50 reported fatalitiesJan 2024: 395 events, 23 reported fatalities2024Feb 2024: 385 events, 7 reported fatalitiesMar 2024: 643 events, 27 reported fatalitiesApr 2024: 456 events, 33 reported fatalitiesMay 2024: 353 events, 8 reported fatalitiesJun 2024: 569 events, 28 reported fatalitiesJul 2024: 512 events, 31 reported fatalitiesAug 2024: 528 events, 30 reported fatalitiesSep 2024: 507 events, 19 reported fatalitiesOct 2024: 452 events, 32 reported fatalitiesNov 2024: 500 events, 13 reported fatalitiesDec 2024: 326 events, 7 reported fatalitiesJan 2025: 207 events, 32 reported fatalities2025Feb 2025: 197 events, 27 reported fatalitiesMar 2025: 585 events, 4 reported fatalitiesApr 2025: 360 events, 7 reported fatalitiesMay 2025: 198 events, 7 reported fatalitiesJun 2025: 117 events, 0 reported fatalitiesJul 2025: 59 events, 0 reported fatalitiesAug 2025: 10 events, 3 reported fatalitiesSep 2025: 2 events, 3 reported fatalitiesOct 2025: 6 events, 2 reported fatalitiesNov 2025: 3 events, 1 reported fatalitiesDec 2025: 4 events, 9 reported fatalitiesJan 2026: 4 events, 1 reported fatalities2026Feb 2026: 35 events, 1 reported fatalitiesMar 2026: 93 events, 9 reported fatalitiesApr 2026: 30 events, 9 reported fatalitiesMay 2026: 22 events, 0 reported fatalitiesJun 2026: 16 events, 2 reported fatalitiesJul 2026: 26 events, 2 reported fatalitiesAug 2026: 21 events, 3 reported fatalitiesSep 2026: 6 events, 0 reported fatalitiesOct 2026: 8 events, 1 reported fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Political violence events only (battles, explosions/remote violence, violence against civilians). Selected provinces only, matching this conflict's area.
Show data table
MonthEventsFatalities
Oct 202681
Sep 202660
Aug 2026213
Jul 2026262
Jun 2026162
May 2026220
Apr 2026309
Mar 2026939
Feb 2026351
Jan 202641
Dec 202549
Nov 202531
Oct 202562
Sep 202523
Aug 2025103
Jul 2025590
Jun 20251170
May 20251987
Apr 20253607
Mar 20255854
Feb 202519727
Jan 202520732
Dec 20243267
Nov 202450013
Oct 202445232
Sep 202450719
Aug 202452830
Jul 202451231
Jun 202456928
May 20243538
Apr 202445633
Mar 202464327
Feb 20243857
Jan 202439523
Dec 202346350
Nov 202338141
Oct 202336853
Sep 202339526
Aug 202321143
Jul 202341835
Jun 202333630
May 202325231
Apr 202325017
Mar 202316922
Feb 20231129
Jan 202321439
Dec 202230441
Nov 202229684
Oct 202242936
Sep 202238850
Aug 202239658
Jul 2022572104
Jun 202247267
May 2022504101
Apr 202240066
Mar 20221075
Feb 20221158
Jan 20221207
Dec 202116332
Nov 202111826

Events by type

Battles Explosions / remote violence Violence against civilians
0 250 500 750 1K 20222023202420252026
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026

Most affected provinces

  1. Erbil (Iraq) 237 events · 23 fatalities
  2. Duhok (Iraq) 12 events · 2 fatalities
  3. Istanbul (Turkey) 3 events · 2 fatalities
  4. Diyarbakir (Turkey) 2 events · 0 fatalities
  5. Van (Turkey) 2 events · 0 fatalities
  6. Adana (Turkey) 1 events · 1 fatalities
  7. Adiyaman (Turkey) 1 events · 0 fatalities
  8. Ankara (Turkey) 1 events · 1 fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Last 12 months, political violence events.

Sources and further reading

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