For over a hundred years, Kurds have fought for an independent state in the area known as Kurdistan – an area divided between Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.
In Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, has been at civil war with the Turkish state since 1984.
The PKK is today labeled a terrorist by, among others, the EU, NATO and Sweden.
The Syrian Kurds’ armed wing in Syria, the YPG, has a similar goal to the PKK.
The YPG has long been allied with NATO and the US in the fight against the terrorist organization IS in Syria. Sweden has also supported the YPG, until November when Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) announced that Sweden was distancing itself from the group.
See a timeline of the Kurdish struggle for self-determination in Turkey, focusing on recent years. See also whole Foreign Office: Erdogan’s scapegoat in SVT Play.