A woman walks through rubble in the provincial centre of Şırnak in November 2016 after it was devastated by the conflict.

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Context: Turkey’s conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – continues in south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq. In northern Syria, Ankara and the PKK’s Syrian affiliate, the People’s Protection Forces (YPG), remain pitted against each other. On the home front, the government is pursuing crackdown on the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

Battleground: Between 10 July-10 August escalation remained concentrated in northern Iraq. Turkish airstrike on 26 July reportedly killed two civilians in Duhok province. Drone strikes near Sulaimani on 9 August reportedly killed seven Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) militants and two civilians. In Turkey’s southeast fatalities were recorded in Siirt, Hatay and Hakkari provinces.

Analysis: Prospects for non-violent ways forward look bleak amid uncertainty in Syria and the Turkish political leadership’s reliance on support from nationalists at home.