Security

Almost 6,000 people have been killed in the Turkish-PKK conflict since 2015

"3,717 active members of the PKK have been killed since the resumption of hostilities between PKK and the Turkish government in July 2015."

Dler S. Mohammed 2022/02/06 13:12

PKK cemetery in Qandil, Northern Iraq. (Photo: Hugh Pope/International Crisis Group ICG)

Middle East PKK Turkey Iraq Turkish-PKK conflict

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Almost 6,000 people have been killed in the Turkish- Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) conflict since 2015, according to the latest International Crisis Group (ICG) report.

According to Crisis Group's fatality tally, last updated on Feb. 3, 2022, at least 5,858 people have been killed in clashes or terrorist attacks since July 2015.

Fatalities per period diagram. (Diagram: International Crisis Group ICG)

This number includes 593 civilians. Most of these individuals were killed in urban clashes in the southeast of the country or by PKK bomb attacks against Turkish cities.

Per the ICG report, 1,322 Turkish security personnel, including soldiers, police officers, and government-employed village guards, have been killed in this conflict since 2015.

"3,717 active members of the PKK have been killed since the resumption of hostilities between PKK and the Turkish government in July 2015," read the report.

ICG assumes that total PKK fatalities are higher than this public tally. However, Ankara says that more than 10,000 militants have been "neutralized" -- hence either killed, wounded, or captured.

The total number also includes 226 individuals of unknown affiliation. According to ICG, it's unclear whether these individuals, aged 16-35, were civilians or combatants due to the blurred line between civilians and plainclothes PKK youth militias during urban battles.

After July 2015, when the ceasefire between the Turkish government and the PKK – recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – broke down, the conflict, which began in 1984, entered one of its deadliest phases.

"The fatality rate in Turkish-PKK conflict peaked in the winter of 2015-2016, and at this time, the conflict was concentrated in a number of majority-Kurdish urban districts in Turkey's southeast," ICG said. "In these districts, PKK-backed youth militias had erected barricades and trenches to claim control of territory."

Fatalities per province/location map. (Map: International Crisis Group ICG)

"Turkish security forces reestablished control in these urban centers in June 2016."