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[[Image:PKK-1.jpg‎ |thumbnail|right|200px|A Turkish Gendarmerie Commando Squad carrying out a counter-[[terrorism]] operation.]]

[[Image:PKK-1.jpg‎ |thumbnail|right|200px|A Turkish Gendarmerie Commando Squad carrying out a counter-[[terrorism]] operation.]]

The '''Kurdish Worker Party''', also known as the '''PKK''', is considered a [[terrorist]] organization by the [[United States]] and [[Europe]]. This Kurdish group has been responsible for violent campaigns to push for an independent Kurdish state in [[Turkey]]. Since 1978, more then 37,000 people have been killed in the clash between the Kurdish rebels and the Turkish security forces, with both sides committing significant [[human rights]] abuses. Estimates for Turkish military deaths throughout the conflict reach nearly 7,000 soldiers with around 10,000 more suffering permanent injuries.  

The '''Kurdish Worker Party''', also known as the '''PKK''', is considered a [[terrorist]] organization by the [[United States]] and [[Europe]]. This Kurdish group has been responsible for violent campaigns to push for an independent Kurdish state in [[Turkey]]. Since 1978, more than 37,000 people have been killed in the clash between the Kurdish rebels and the Turkish security forces, with both sides committing significant [[human rights]] abuses. Estimates for Turkish military deaths throughout the conflict reach nearly 7,000 soldiers with around 10,000 more suffering permanent injuries.  

Fearing a split in their country the Turkish government placed significant restrictions on the rights of the Kurdish people,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4690181.stm</ref> the PKK tries to use these restrictions to justify its rebellion against the government. In 1999, a unilateral truce was declared by the rebels and the Turkish government began to ease restrictions on the [[Kurds]], this truce did not last however, when in 2004 the terrorist group claimed that the Turkish government had not done enough to meet their demands.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4690181.stm</ref>

Fearing a split in their country the Turkish government placed significant restrictions on the rights of the Kurdish people,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4690181.stm</ref> the PKK tries to use these restrictions to justify its rebellion against the government. In 1999, a unilateral truce was declared by the rebels and the Turkish government began to ease restrictions on the [[Kurds]], this truce did not last however, when in 2004 the terrorist group claimed that the Turkish government had not done enough to meet their demands.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4690181.stm</ref>

In 1999, the group’s leader, [[Abdullah Ocalan]], was captured and sentenced to death. Today, rather then seeking to create a separate Kurdish state, PKK leaders say that their goal now is to create a solution for the Kurdish identity within [[Turkey]], [[Iraq]], [[Iran]] and [[Syria]]. Estimates of terrorist guerrilla's in the PKK range from ten to fifteen thousand.<ref>World Politics in a New Era, Steven L. Spiegel, Fred L. Wehling, secound edition, pg. 471</ref>[[Syria]], [[Iran]] and [[Iraq]], have provided external aid to the separatist.<ref>World Politics in a New Era, Steven L. Spiegel, Fred L. Wehling, secound edition, pg. 471</ref>

In 1999, the group’s leader, [[Abdullah Ocalan]], was captured and sentenced to death. Today, rather than seeking to create a separate Kurdish state, PKK leaders say that their goal now is to create a solution for the Kurdish identity within [[Turkey]], [[Iraq]], [[Iran]] and [[Syria]]. Estimates of terrorist guerrilla's in the PKK range from ten to fifteen thousand.<ref>World Politics in a New Era, Steven L. Spiegel, Fred L. Wehling, secound edition, pg. 471</ref>[[Syria]], [[Iran]] and [[Iraq]], have provided external aid to the separatist.<ref>World Politics in a New Era, Steven L. Spiegel, Fred L. Wehling, secound edition, pg. 471</ref>

==PKK Abuses==

==PKK Abuses==