On May 12, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced its dissolution as a step toward the Turkish-Kurdish reconciliation process. In general, since the end of 2024, several key developments have taken place in both Syria and Turkish-Kurdish relations, which are widely seen as steps toward achieving stability and reconciliation inside Syria and in relations between Turkey and the Kurds. However, this peace process does not appear to extend to the Kurdish-populated areas in northern Syria under Turkish control, where there are persistent reports of human rights abuses, including violence and property confiscation, committed by Turkey-backed militants against local Kurdish residents.
The officially stated reason behind all Turkish military operations in Syria and Iraq has been the fight against the PKK and its affiliates in Syria, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). As a result, the PKK’s dissolution is viewed as the elimination of Turkey’s main justification for its military presence and operations in these countries. However, just a few days after the PKK’s decision was made public, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that it would continue military operations until there is clear evidence on the ground that the group has ceased all activity.
Since 2016, Turkey has invaded and occupied several regions in northern Syria. A de facto Turkish rule has been established in these areas that includes the forced displacement of the Kurdish population, mandatory teaching of the Turkish language in schools, the use of the Turkish lira as currency, and the administration of the regions by Turkish state institutions.
In December 2024, after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule in Syria, power was taken by representatives of the militant group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which had previously been one of the Turkish-backed factions operating in the north and were also funded by Turkey. After taking power, a series of developments followed, officially aimed at reducing internal divisions and establishing national reconciliation. One of these was the agreement signed on March 10, 2025, between the Syrian Interim Government and the Kurdish SDF, which confirmed the following points:
- The Kurdish community is recognized as an indigenous part of Syria. The Syrian state guarantees their right to citizenship and all rights defined in the Constitution.
- All Kurdish armed and civilian institutions, including border crossings, airports, and oil and gas fields, are to be integrated into the Syrian government and army structures.
- Kurdish forces and authorities agree to a nationwide ceasefire.
- The return of all displaced Syrians to their cities and villages is guaranteed, along with protection by the Syrian state.
- The parties agree to jointly combat the remaining Assad forces.
- The parties reject any calls or initiatives that promote division or spread hate speech within Syrian society.
This agreement did not provide any guarantees for the physical safety or property rights of the Kurdish population living in areas under Turkish control. It also made no mention of the release of hundreds of individuals who have been abducted and tortured for alleged secret ties to the PKK. According to Human Rights Watch, SNA and HTS militants, who were previously accused of terrorist activity, have continued to abduct and torture civilians in northern Syria even after being integrated into the official Syrian army under the new authorities. This shows that the Syrian state not only fails to protect the Kurdish residents in these areas but also acts as one of the forces involved in torture.
For years, various human rights violations and crimes have been recorded in the Turkish-occupied areas. These include attacks on civilian homes, kidnappings of both women and men under various pretexts, extortion of property, destruction of olive groves, which serve as the main source of income for locals, and the demolition of cultural and historical landmarks. Reports from different organizations also reveal the involvement of Turkish intelligence and military in the torture and killing of abducted individuals. And although the aforementioned developments are indeed historic, they do not eliminate the possibility of continued military operations and human rights violations by Turkish forces and Turkey-backed militants.