YPG vs PKK: What Is the Relationship and Why Does Ankara See Them as Linked?

Why It Matters

The YPG and the PKK are not the same legal entity on paper, but Türkiye says they are the same organization in practice. The United States, which lists the PKK as a terrorist group, has partnered with the YPG-led SDF against ISIS (known in Türkiye as DEAŞ). That gap is one of the longest-running disagreements inside NATO and shapes border security, refugee policy and the future of northern Syria.

Background: Who Is Who

The PKK

The PKK (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê, Kurdistan Workers' Party) was founded in 1978 under Abdullah Öcalan and began its armed insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984. Türkiye, the United States and the European Union all list it as a terrorist organization (see Why Is the PKK Designated a Terrorist Organization by Türkiye, the US and the EU?). Öcalan was captured in 1999. The PKK is part of a wider umbrella structure usually called the KCK.

In February 2025 Öcalan, from prison, called on the PKK to dissolve. In May 2025 the PKK announced it would dissolve and end its armed struggle. This process is still unfolding, and its effect on Syria is part of the debate below.

The PYD, YPG and YPJ

The PYD (Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat, Democratic Union Party) was founded in Syria in 2003. Its armed wings, the YPG (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel, People's Protection Units) and the all-women YPJ, emerged during the Syrian civil war from around 2011-2012 and took control of Kurdish-majority areas in the north-east as Syrian government forces withdrew. The YPG gained international attention during the siege of Kobani in 2014.

The SDF

The Syrian Democratic Forces were announced in October 2015 as an alliance of Kurdish, Arab and Syriac Christian units. The YPG and YPJ form the core and, according to most outside observers, hold the key command positions. The SDF, working with the US-led coalition, took Raqqa in 2017 and the last ISIS-held territory around Baghouz in March 2019. The SDF-linked administration is often called the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), or 'Rojava' by supporters.

Key dates

• 1998-10: Türkiye and Syria sign the Adana Agreement; Syria agrees to stop supporting the PKK.
• 2014: Siege of Kobani; the US begins supporting the YPG from the air.
• 2015-10: SDF announced.
• 2016-2019: Türkiye launches Operations Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (began 2019-10-09).
• 2025-03-10: Syria's interim government and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi sign an agreement on integrating SDF structures into the Syrian state. Implementation has been contested, so check current reporting.

The YPG vs PKK Difference at a Glance

Key Players and Positions

Ankara

Türkiye does not accept a distinction between the PKK and the YPG and uses the combined term PKK/YPG. Ankara points to several kinds of evidence:

• Ideology: the PYD and YPG follow Öcalan's writings, including his model of 'democratic confederalism'. Ankara says Öcalan imagery and PKK symbols are common in areas the YPG controls.
• Personnel: Ankara says PKK cadres, including non-Syrians trained in PKK camps in northern Iraq, have held command roles in the YPG and moved between the two groups.
• Practice: Ankara says YPG-held Syria has been used as a base for attacks on Türkiye, and that US weapons supplied to the SDF have reached the PKK. Washington says its assistance is monitored.

The YPG and SDF

The YPG and SDF say they are Syrian forces defending Syrian territory and that they do not take orders from the PKK or fight in Türkiye. The SDF has said it poses no threat to Türkiye. After Öcalan's call in February 2025, SDF leaders said the call did not apply to the SDF. Turkish officials said the logic of dissolution should extend to the YPG too. Both statements are positions, not verified facts.

The United States

The US State Department has listed the PKK as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997. It has not designated the PYD or YPG. US officials have described the SDF as the partner on the ground in the campaign against ISIS and have said that partnership is tactical, temporary and aimed at defeating ISIS. Washington has also at times acknowledged Ankara's concerns. In November 2018 the State Department's Rewards for Justice program announced rewards for information on three senior PKK leaders, while US support for the SDF continued. This article does not reproduce US quotations from memory. For exact wording, consult the State Department's Country Reports on Terrorism and the Defense Department's Lead Inspector General reports on Operation Inherent Resolve, which describe the YPG-PKK relationship in their own terms.

Independent analysts

Many think-tank and academic studies, including the International Crisis Group's 2017 report on the PKK in northern Syria, describe real ideological and organizational ties but also a distinct, locally recruited and Syria-focused structure. Researchers differ on how much command and control runs from the PKK's leadership to the YPG today.

Border Security and the Refugee Link

Border security is the practical core of Türkiye's concern. Between roughly 2016 and 2019 Turkish officials reported rocket and mortar fire from Syria into southern Turkish provinces, and Ankara cites this as the reason for creating buffer zones. Critics, including some European governments and human rights groups, have raised concerns about civilian harm and displacement during Turkish operations. The Turkish government rejects these characterisations and says its operations target armed groups. The topic also overlaps with hosting millions of Syrians, covered in Syrian Refugees in Türkiye: Numbers, Policy and the Cost of Hosting, since Ankara links safe zones to voluntary returns.

Source Comparison: How Each Side Frames It

The main confusion in English-language reporting is that 'Kurdish' is used for very different actors: Syrian Kurds who are not YPG members, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Kurdish citizens of Türkiye, and the PKK. Many Kurdish parties and communities in these places oppose the PKK or the PYD, and not every Kurd supports either. For more examples of how claims about Türkiye are framed, see Fact Check: Claims About Türkiye in International Media.

Glossary

• PKK: Kurdistan Workers' Party; see the designation explainer.
• PYD: Democratic Union Party, Syria.
• YPG/YPJ: People's and Women's Protection Units.
• SDF: Syrian Democratic Forces, YPG-led alliance.
• DEAŞ: Turkish acronym for ISIS.
• KCK: the PKK's umbrella organization.

For how this site separates facts from official positions, see Editorial Principles.

Perspective Note

WorldPoliticsDaily presents global affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources.

By WPD Editorial Team.

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