Beset on all sides: a soldier of the SDF looks out at the Turkish frontline during the 2019 invasion of Kurdish territory in Syria.
EPA_EFE/stringer
Joe Biden has been quick to calm Kurdish fears that the US will abandon them to their fate.
Dilbar Ali Ravu, 10, is kissed by his aunt, Dalal Ravu, as Yazidi children are reunited with their families in Iraq after five years of captivity with the Islamic State group, March 2, 2019.
AP Photo/Philip Issa, File
Interviews with the Yazidi survivors of IS attacks that killed 3,100 people in 2014 reveal the emotional, cultural and spiritual scars of religious persecution.
EPA/Afan Abdulkhaleq
Saddled with a repressive government that cuts their wages in the name of austerity, Iraq’s Kurds are demanding something better.
Turkish tanks near the Syrian border.
EPA/SEDAT SUNA
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party is under mounting pressure.
People raise hands during a protest as Catalan regional police officers stand guard outside the
National Police station in Barcelona.
Reuters/Yves Herman
Both regions have held independence referendums that have returned overwhelming “yes” votes. But without international support, the road ahead will be a tough one.
EPA/Gailan Haji
It seems almost inevitable Iraqi Kurdistan will separate from the rest of Iraq – but going it alone will be hugely difficult.
Central square in the Iraqi Kurdish capital, Erbil.
Eng. Bilal Izzadin
Iraqi Kurds will vote Yes to independence in September – and it could lead to trouble.