About our Kurdistan news
Latest news on Kurdistan, covering the Kurdish people, KRG, Peshmerga, PKK peace process, Rojava, SDF, and key developments across Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran.
The Kurds are widely regarded as the largest stateless ethnic group in the world, with an estimated 30 to 40 million people spread across a homeland that spans southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria and western Iran — a region collectively known as Kurdistan. Connected by the Kurdish language, a rich cultural heritage and a long history of resistance, Kurdish communities have shaped and been shaped by some of the most consequential geopolitical developments in the modern Middle East, from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire to the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
In Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), based in Erbil, remains the most established form of Kurdish self-governance anywhere in the region. Led by President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, the KRG oversees its own Peshmerga military forces, an independent parliament and substantial oil resources. However, long-running disputes with Baghdad over budget transfers, oil revenues and the implementation of constitutional provisions such as Article 140 continue to dominate the political landscape. Negotiations between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) over the formation of the KRG's tenth cabinet and the Iraqi presidency have proven protracted, with both parties seeking a unified Kurdish position in federal politics.
In Turkey, a historic chapter is unfolding in the decades-old conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Following the PKK's formal dissolution and symbolic disarmament ceremony, imprisoned PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan has called for legal reforms to underpin a transition to democratic politics. A Turkish parliamentary commission has proposed legislation covering the reintegration of former militants, expanded cultural and linguistic rights for Kurds, and broader democratisation measures. The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) has played a central role in the process, while sceptics caution that progress must be matched by concrete guarantees, including the release of political prisoners such as former party leader Selahattin Demirtaş.
In Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava) face an existential challenge. Following the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian transitional government launched a major offensive in early 2026 that forced the SDF to withdraw from large swathes of territory, including Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor. A ceasefire and integration agreement has since been reached, with Syrian government forces entering Kurdish-held areas including Hasakah, but Kurdish leaders insist the core elements of self-governance remain in place. The fate of Kobane, long a symbol of Kurdish resistance against ISIS, and the future status of Kurdish language and cultural rights under Syria's new authorities remain deeply uncertain.
In Iran, Kurdish communities in the western provinces — known to Kurds as Rojhelat or Eastern Kurdistan — have faced severe repression, with human rights organisations documenting lethal force, mass arrests and restrictions on mourning and cultural expression. A wave of protests that intensified from late 2025 saw Kurdish cities become focal points of unrest. In February 2026, five major Iranian Kurdish parties formed the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan, pledging a unified front for self-determination. Following US and Israeli military strikes on Iran in late February 2026, the IRGC targeted Iranian Kurdish opposition bases in Iraq's Kurdistan Region with drones and missiles, while Kurdish groups reported launching operations inside Iran. The situation remains highly volatile, with the Kurdish role in any broader change in Iran still unfolding.
The Kurdish story is inseparable from questions of identity, displacement and resilience. A large Kurdish diaspora, concentrated in Germany and other European countries, maintains strong cultural and political ties to the homeland. Kurdish history stretches from the unfulfilled promise of the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres to the tragedies of Halabja and Anfal, and these experiences continue to inform Kurdish political aspirations. Whether through diplomacy, armed struggle or grassroots democratic experiments, Kurdish communities remain at the centre of some of the most pressing issues in the Middle East. The ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ feed on Kurdistan brings together the latest reporting from across the region, providing a comprehensive and continuously updated resource for anyone following the evolving Kurdish story.