Published by
Reuters UK
Reuters UK
(Reuters) – Turkey has opposed Sweden and Finland’s membership of NATO, accusing them of harbouring individuals linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party militant group (PKK) and followers of a cleric Turkey accuses of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016. What are these groups? THE PKK The Kurds are a minority living in a region straddling the borders of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Armenia. In Turkey, they make up about 20% of the population. The PKK was founded in 1978 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey. It took up arms against Turkey in 1984, a conflict in which m…