Kurdish villages depopulated by Turkey
Encyclopedia
The number of Kurdish villages depopulated by Turkey is estimated at around 3,000. Since 1984, the Turkish military has embarked on a campaign to eradicate the Kurdistan Workers Party, a militant Kurdish opposition group. As a result, 30,000 people have died, and two million Kurdish refugees
have been driven out of their homes into overcrowded urban shantytowns.
, Van
, and Şırnak
, as well as to the cities of western Turkey and even to western Europe. The causes of the depopulation included PKK atrocities against Kurdish clans they could not control, the poverty of the southeast, and the Turkish state's military operations. Human Rights Watch
has documented many instances where the Turkish military forcibly evacuated villages, destroying houses and equipment to prevent the return of the inhabitants. An estimated 3,000 Kurdish villages in Turkey were virtually wiped from the map, representing the displacement of more than 378,000 people.
Kurdish refugees
The problem of Kurdish refugees and displaced has been created over the 20th century in the Middle East, and continues to loom today. Displacements of Kurds had already been happening within the Ottoman Empire, on pretext of local rebellions' suppression, over the period of its domination of the...
have been driven out of their homes into overcrowded urban shantytowns.
Background
Much of the countryside in southeast Turkey has been depopulated by the Turkish government, with Kurdish civilians moving to local defensible centers such as DiyarbakırDiyarbakır
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
, Van
Van, Turkey
Van is a city in southeastern Turkey and the seat of the Kurdish-majority Van Province, and is located on the eastern shore of Lake Van. The city's official population in 2010 was 367,419, but many estimates put this as much higher with a 1996 estimate stating 500,000 and former Mayor Burhan...
, and Şırnak
Sirnak
Şırnak is a town in southeastern Turkey. It is the capital of Şırnak Province, a new province that split from the Hakkari province...
, as well as to the cities of western Turkey and even to western Europe. The causes of the depopulation included PKK atrocities against Kurdish clans they could not control, the poverty of the southeast, and the Turkish state's military operations. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
has documented many instances where the Turkish military forcibly evacuated villages, destroying houses and equipment to prevent the return of the inhabitants. An estimated 3,000 Kurdish villages in Turkey were virtually wiped from the map, representing the displacement of more than 378,000 people.
See also
- Kurds in TurkeyKurds in TurkeyEthnic Kurds compose a significant portion of the population in Turkey . Unlike the Turks, the Kurds speak an Indo-European language...
- Syrian towns and villages depopulated in the Arab-Israeli conflictSyrian towns and villages depopulated in the Arab-Israeli conflictPre-1967 Syrian towns and villages on the Golan Heights before the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War comprised 312 inhabited areas, including 2 towns, 163 villages, and 108 farms. In 1966, the Syrian population of the Golan Heights was estimated at 147,613....
- List of villages depopulated during the Arab–Israeli conflict
- Kurdish villages destroyed during the Iraqi Arabization campaignKurdish villages destroyed during the Iraqi Arabization campaignKurdish villages destroyed during the Iraqi Arabization campaign refers to villages razed by Iraq in the Iraqi government's "Arabization campaign" of areas, excluded from Kurdistan under the Iraqi-Kurdish Autonomy Agreement of 1970.-History:...