CASE STUDY | Kurdistan Flashcards
1
Q
Who are the Kurds?
A
- Ethnic group spread across a number of Middle Eastern countries
- The present ‘heartland’ of the Kurdish nation, known as Kurdistan, spreads across Iraq, Iraq, Syria and Turkey
2
Q
Where are the Kurdish people living?
A
- Estimated to number around 28-30 million in this heartland
- Another 2-3 million living as a diaspora, away from the region
- For instance, Germany has a sizeable Kurdish community
3
Q
Aims of the Kurdish people
A
- Long wanted their own independent state
- Suffered persecution, notably under the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein
- History of armed conflict with the Turkish police and military
- Kurdistan Workers’ Party, an organisation using armed conflict to bring about a Kurdish nation, is regarded as a terrorist organisation by the USA and EU countries
