Publication

This briefing explores the current conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and in particular reviews the human costs of their confrontation on the Sur District of the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir. Since the breakdown in negotiations between Ankara and the PKK in June 2015, the government has 1) imposed curfews in Diyarbakir; 2) failed to distinguish between civilians and militants in the curfew zones; and 3) promoted a narrative that's obviously at odds with the one popularized by its opponent. And yet at the same time, Ankara has provided aid to those displaced by the conflict and seemingly does have a plan to mitigate the human costs of this tense conflict.