Kurds

Syrian Kurds lift placards and flags during a rally calling for an autonomous administration and Kurdish rights in Syria's predominantly Kurdish northeastern city of Qamishli, on Sept. 17, 2025.

Ankara: Jailed PKK chief favors unitary Syria, no separate Kurdish defense force

The militant leader called for “police-like” security units in Syrian Democratic Forces areas during his landmark meeting with a Turkish parliamentary delegation, according to a transcript summary.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) meet in Irbil on April 12, 2025.

Exclusive

Iraq's Kurds air fury over PM Sudani's stance after attack on gas field

“We were shocked at Sudani’s audacity. Imagine the state we would have been in had he gotten his way,” a senior Iraqi Kurdish official speaking not for attribution told Al-Monitor.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

People take part in a demonstration to call for the liberation of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan outside the European Council in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Sept. 15, 2025.

Analysis

PKK leader Ocalan gains legitimacy in Turkey, bigger sway over Syria’s Kurds

The ongoing deadlock between Damascus and the SDF is seen as a major obstacle to progress in Turkey’s efforts to address its long-standing Kurdish issue.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Sipan Hemo

Exclusive

SDF commander Hemo: Syria’s Kurds prepare for threat of war as Damascus talks falter

As US-brokered talks stall, Kurdish forces are preparing contingencies while continuing dialogue with Damascus to secure Syria’s future, SDF commander Sipan Hemo told Al-Monitor in an exclusive interview.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Erdogan's top ally calls for release of Kurdish leader amid speculation of rift

A man holds a portrait of Selahattin Demirtas during a gathering of Turkish Kurds for Nowruz celebrations marking the New Year of the Persian calendar and the first day of spring, Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, March 21, 2025.

Syria’s Shibani says no concrete progress in integration talks with Kurds

DAMASCUS, SYRIA - DECEMBER 30: Syria's newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani during a press conference after a meeting between the Syrian leadership and a Ukrainian delegation to help strengthen ties between the two countries on December 30, 2024 in Damascus, Syria. Syria is transitioning after the fall of the Baath regime and the Assad family's rule, with a temporary administration now in place in Damascus and Aleppo. (Photo by Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

Iraq's security chief visits Iran, steps up border and railway cooperation: What to know

Iraqi national security adviser Qasim al-Araji meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in Tehran, on Oct. 20, 2025.

Syria’s SDF releases detainees as 'goodwill' gesture after talks with Damascus

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on Jan. 24, 2019.

Turkish soldiers conduct military exercises near the Habur crossing gate between Turkey and Iraq on September 27, 2017 in the Silopi district, southeast Turkey.
Iraqi soldiers on September 26 took part in a Turkish military drill close to the Iraqi border on Tuesday, an AFP photographer said, a day after Iraq's Kurdish region held a vote on independence. / AFP PHOTO / ILYAS AKENGIN (Photo credit should read ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey takes on Kurds in evolving Qandil operation

Although Ankara seems determined to reach the PKK stronghold of Qandil in Iraq, it faces many obstacles to sustaining such an operation against Kurdish militants in the punishing mountain region.

A female member of the anti-Iranian group, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), carries her weapon as she walks through their base deep in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region, on May 5, 2014. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

What's behind Turkish threats to invade PKK stronghold in Iraq?

Turkish leaders have raised the specter of a ground offensive on the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, home to the main camps of the PKK, but the motive and viability of such an operation remain questionable.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters gather north of Kirkuk, Iraq October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RC17660E3340

Politicized peshmerga adds to Iraqi Kurdistan destabilization

There's long been talk of unifying the fractured peshmerga forces in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, but action is direly needed.

Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), speaks during an electoral rally for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Arbil, the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region on April 29, 2018. (Photo by SAFIN HAMED / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi Kurds look to open new chapter with Iran

The Iraqi Kurdish leadership forges ahead with efforts to improve ties with Iran, both in hopes of reviving their economy and also to regain lost clout in Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi shakes hands with his supporters during election campaign in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq April 25, 2018. Picture taken April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RC19D5B12000

Is Iraqi PM counting on Sunni, Kurdish votes for re-election?

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi appears to be counting on Sunni and Kurdish votes to win the next election, with visits to traditional Kurdish and Sunni strongholds.

Candidates' past ties to Saddam create uproar in Iraq's Kurdistan Region

Despite the Kurdistan Regional Government's strong rhetoric against Saddam Hussein and his collaborators, several Kurdish figures who worked with the former Iraqi president's Baath regime are participating in the upcoming elections.

Iranian sculptor's desire for artistic freedom takes him across region

Iranian Kurdish sculptor Seywan Saeedian's life takes him across borders in a conflict-torn region, where artistic independence often comes at a steep price.

Expect change in Iraq when embattled Kurds cast ballots

Iraqi Kurds have made it clear in recent protests that they will make their voices heard and their votes count.

Turkish forces and Free Syrian Army are deployed in Afrin, Syria March 18, 2018. REUTERS/ Khalil Ashawi - RC1526525050

Fall of Afrin: Turkey’s Vietnam or Washington’s nightmare?

Following the fall of the Syrian city of Afrin to Turkish forces March 18, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's threats to expand operations to other regions controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces seem credible.

Turkish firms welcome return of air access to Iraqi Kurdistan

Now that Baghdad has lifted the ban on international travel to the Iraqi Kurdistan region, experts say the Turkish government needs to resume mutual flights as soon as possible.

Iraqi and Turkish soldiers wave flags at the Habur Border Gate between Turkey and Iraq in this still image taken from video, October 31, 2017. IHA/ via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. TURKEY OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN TURKEY. PART NO ACCESS TURKEY.? - RC19E8A7C400

Turkey poised to open a military front in Iraq

Improved relations between Iraq and Turkey have raised the possibility of a joint offensive against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq.

Iraq's Kurdistan region's President Massoud Barzani waits to receive French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian and the French Defence Minister Florence Parly in Erbil, Iraq, August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC1FFD902C00

Iraqi budget drives another wedge between Baghdad, Kurds

Baghdad's parliament cut Kurdistan's budget this week, adding fuel to the fire regarding their disputes.