Jarabulus: Another Escalation in the War between Turkey and the Kurds

by Robert Olson On August 24, Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield, an attack on the Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Jarabulus, a small town located on the Turkish-Syrian. While Turkey has had troops on the Syrian side of the border… Continue Reading

Causes and Consequences of the Coup in Turkey

by Robert Olson  The consequences of the attempted coup in Turkey on July 15 are already clear in terms of the government’s war against various Kurdish factions such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), the… Continue Reading

Conflict between Kurds and Syrian Refugees in Turkey?

by Robert Olson An estimated 2.5 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey. They are scattered all over Turkey including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, and along the southern coast. There are also 600,000-700,000 in refugee camps. Increasingly, these refugees from Syria… Continue Reading

War Between Kurds and Turks?

by Robert Olson Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), has mentioned several times in the last few months that Turkey and its Kurdish population will go to war. He stated such a possibility in early March while… Continue Reading