This is the timeline of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. The Kurdish insurgency is an armed conflict between the Republic of Turkey and various Kurdish insurgent groups, which have demanded separation from Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan, or to have autonomy and greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. The main rebel group is the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, which was founded on November 27, 1978, and started a full-scale insurgency on August 15, 1984, when it declared a Kurdish uprising. Apart from some extended ceasefires (most recently during the 2013-2015 Kurdish-Turkish peace process), the conflict has continued to the present day.

Background (1920–1974) July 1920, Koçgiri Rebellion August, 1924, Beytüşşebab rebellion 1925, Sheik Said Rebellion October 1927, Ararat rebellion March 20, 1937, Dersim Rebellion

1974–1984: Rise of PKK March 18, 1977, Haki Karer, a leader of the "Revolutionaries of Kurdistan" group is assassinated in Gaziantep. May 18, 1978, Halil Çavgun, another "Revolutionaries of Kurdistan" leader is assassinated by Kurdish landowners. November 27, 1978, the founding congress of the Kurdistan Workers' Party is held in the village of Fis near Lice in Diyarbakır Province. December 25, 1978, Grey Wolves commit Maraş Massacre, killing 109 and injuring 176 Alevi Turks/Kurds in Kahramanmaraş.A modern history of the Kurds, By David McDowall, page 415, at Google Books, accessed on May 1, 2011 July 30, 1979, assassination attempt to Celal Bucak, a member of parliament, by PKK, then also known as Apoists. 5 killed, Bucak and his 8 (or 11) year old son wounded. September 12, 1980, General Kenan Evren seizes power, deposing an elected government led by Süleyman Demirel and his Justice Party in the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. Most of the PKK's leadership move to Syria. November 10, 1980, The Turkish Consulate in Strasbourg, France was bombed causing significant material damage but no injuries. In a telephone call to the Agence France-Presse office, a spokesman said the blast was a joint operation and marked the start of a "fruitful collaboration" between the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) and the Kurdistan Workers Party. September 24, 1981, the Turkish consulate in Paris is attacked by ASALA. Their demands included the release of five Kurdish revolutionary fighters.See the online edition of Gündem of July 14, 2008 (Turkish); accessed on September 18, 2009 March 21, 1982, imprisoned PKK leader Mazlum Doğan burned himself to death in protest of the treatment of inmates at the Diyarbakır Prison. May 18, 1982, PKK members Ferhat Kurtay, Necmi Önen, Mahmut Zengin and Eşref Anyık also burn themselves to death in Diyarbakır Prison. June 6, 1982, start of the First Lebanon War, PKK forces stationed in the Beqaa Valley are ordered to fight alongside the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Syria, against Israel. July 14, 1982, PKK members Kemal Pir, M. Hayri Durmuş, Ali Çiçek and Akif Yılmaz start a hunger strike in Diyarbakır Prison. August 20–25, 1982, the second PKK congress is held in Daraa, Syria. September 7, 1982, Kemal Pir dies as result of his hunger strike in Diyarbakır Prison. M. Hayri Durmuş dies on September 12, Akif Yılmaz on September 15 and Ali Çiçek on September 15.Report of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey: File of Torture: Deaths in Detention Places or Prisons (12 September 1980 – 12 September 1995), Ankara, March 1996 , page 68 April 12, 1984, a 75-day hunger-strike is started by Kurdish prisoners in Istanbul. Four prisoners die as result of the hunger-strike.

1984–1999 August 15, 1984, the PKK starts the armed Kurdish rebellion with an attack on police and gendarmerie bases in Şemdinli, Hakkâri Province and Eruh, Siirt Province. March 21, 1986, the PKK's military commander: Mahsum Korkmaz aka "Agit" is killed by Turkish forces. July 19, 1987, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey declared a civil state of emergency in 10 Southeastern provinces in response to the PKK's insurgency.

1990 February 5, 1990, over 500 Iraqi Kurds protested in Diyarbakir and clashed with Turkish security forces. Ninety-five people were arrested. March 14, 1990, start of Kurdish popular protests and civil uprising known as Serhildan and in the city of Nusaybin. May 27, 1990, about 100 Kurdish political prisoners went on hunger strike. June 2, 1990, during a protest by 2,000 Iraqi Kurds, five protesters and a policeman were killed. June 8, 1990, ten Kurdish MPs, led by Ahmet Fehmi Işıklar from the Social Democratic Populist Party broke away from the party to form Turkey's first pro-Kurdish party: the People's Labor Party (HEP). August 28, 1990, a Kurdish representative to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights accused Turkey of using the Gulf Crisis to forcibly expel thousands of Kurds from their mountain homeland and executing those who refused to leave. The government of Turkey denied the accusation.

1991 February 1, 1991, the Turkish government eased the ban on the Kurdish language, by lifting the ban on speaking Kurdish and the ban on Kurdish music. However, the use of Kurdish was still forbidden in printed material, public gatherings, demonstrations and education. March 2, 1991, during a major riot in Diyarbakir nearly 1000 Kurds fought troops with stones and sticks. Two Kurds and one Turkish soldier were killed. April 1991, Yeşilova incident between British Royal Marines protecting Iraqi-Kurdish refugees, and Turkish Armed Forces allegedly preventing the refugees from receiving aid, in a refugee camp in Yeşilova.

1992 August 18–21, 1992, Battle of Şırnak, between Turkish armed forces and PKK fighters in the town of Şırnak leading to the destruction of much of the town. October 3, 1992, start of similar operations in the town of Kulp in Diyarbakır Province. October 12, 1992, Turkey launches A cross-border special operation into Northern Iraq with 2,500 commandos against 10,000 PKK militants to rescue 2 captured Turkish soldiers. Turkey killed over 1,550 PKK militants and captured more than 2,600 with just only 14 commandos being killed. November 17, 1992, truce signed between the KDP, PUK and PKK.

1993 March 20, 1993 – PKK unilateral cease-fire declaration. Turkish President Turgut Özal plans pro-Kurdish reform package, but dies in office on 17 April 1993, before he can bring it forward (see Castle Plan and 1993 alleged Turkish military coup). May 24, 1993, the PKK kills 33 Turkish soldiers, who were heading to their stations that they were designated to after finishing their training, who had surrendered and were unarmed, and multiple civilians in an attack on the highway between Elazığ and Bingöl. July 5, 1993, 100 militants attack the village of Başbağlar, near Erzincan, killing 33 civilians. July 1993, the HEP is banned for promoting Kurdish rights by the Constitutional Court of Turkey.

1994 March 4, 1994 – Leyla Zana, Orhan Doğan and other politicians of the pro Kurdish DEP were dismissed from parliament and arrested. May 11, 1994, Kurdish lawyer Murat Bozlak formed the People's Democracy Party (HADEP), July 7, 1994 – Akçayurt village burned by the Turkish military. August 18, 1994 – Mehmet Gürkan was seen taken away in a helicopter having previously reported to the press that he had been tortured by the Turkish military and told to tell television journalists that the PKK had destroyed his village a month earlier. Since his disappearance he has not been seen again. November 1994 – March 1995, Turkish Winter Campaign to cut PKK militants off from their winter supplies. Over 6,000 PKK militants were killed during the operations.

1995 March 20 – May 4, 1995, Turkish Operation Steel against PKK forces in Northern Iraq to prevent further border station ambushes conducted by the PKK. A force of 35,000 personnel (in which most were there for pulling security, a very small portion took part in the actual fighting) went into Iraqi Kurdistan, assisted by planes, helicopters, tanks and APCs. The operation ended in a Turkish victory as the Zap Camp was captured and destroyed by Turkish forces. 555 PKK members were killed and another were 13 captured. April 19, 1995, Turkish Troops and aircraft laid siege to Kurdish PKK rebels in eastern Turkey as Ankara's military offensive in northern Iraq entered a fifth week, in the Alibogazi ravine area in Tunceli province. December 1995, the PKK announced a unilateral cease-fire December 24, 1995, during the Turkish general election of 1995 the HADEP won 1,171,623 or 4.17% of the votes.

1996 April 1996, Turkish security forces launched the Operation Hawk which claimed lives of 40 Turkish soldiers and 241 militants and 6 other militants were captured alive. August 1996, the PKK ended the cease-fire as the peace initiatives didn't have success. 1997, 4 Turkish soldiers are killed in the Sazak assault, a joint operation between the PKK, the DHKP/C and TKP/ML near the city of Reşadiye in Tokat Province.

1997 May July 12–7, 1997, Turkish forces launch Operation Hammer against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan during the Iraqi Kurdish Civil War. More than 2,700 PKK militants were killed and over 400 PKK militants were captured. September 25 – October 15, 1997, Turkish Operation Dawn, a second intervention to support the KDP against the PKK in the civil war in Iraqi Kurdistan, killing over 850 PKK militants and capturing 37.

1998 April 23, 1998, Operation Murat is launched against PKK in the Diyarbakır-Bitlis-Bingöl Triangle. ıt is the largest military operation Turkey has conducted inside of its borders. The operation ended after every single PKK member in the triangle was neutralized. October 9, 1998, Abdullah Öcalan is forced to leave Syria and go to Moscow, Russia.

1999 February 1, 1999, Abdullah Öcalan arrives at Greek island of Corfu and is flown to Nairobi, Kenya on February 2. February 15, 1999, Abdullah Öcalan is captured in Nairobi, Kenya and brought to Turkey to stand trial February 15 – February 18, February 1999 Kurdish protests break out worldwide against the arrest of Abdullah Öcalan, attacking Greek, Kenyan and Turkish diplomatic missions worldwide. March 13, 1999, a petrol bomb was detonated at a crowded shopping center in Istanbul, killing 13 people. The next day two people, including a soldier are injured in Bahçelievler by a bomb placed under a truck. Turkish police suspect the PKK was behind the attacks. April 18, 1999, during the general election HADEP won 1,482,196 or 4.75% of the votes. During local elections that same day, the party received 1,094,761 or 3.48% of the votes. September 1, 1999, the PKK declares a unilateral 10-year cease-fire. End of the first insurgency.

1999–2004: Ceasefire January 17, 2000, the Kurdish Hezbollah's leader Hüseyin Velioğlu is killed by Turkish forces in Istanbul. February 2000, PKK declares formal end to the war. April 10, 2002, the PKK abolished itself and formed to form a political organization named KADEK (Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress), claiming the PKK had fulfilled its mission and would now move on as purely political organisation. May 13, 2003, members of Turkey's constitutional court decided unanimously to disband HADEP and ban the party. November 2003, KADEK and the Kurdish parliament (KNK) were merged into a new organization named KONGRA-GEL. January 13, 2004, the PKK and all its organizations were added to the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. April 5, 2004, the EU added the PKK to its list of designated terrorist organizations. June 1, 2004, after a power struggle between moderates and hardliners in the within the PKK is won by hardliners and Murat Karayılan becomes leader of the PKK, the group declares an end to the September 1999 ceasefire and start of the second insurgency.

2004–2012

2005