The unfortunate history of a nomadic people

The Kurds are believed to be of Indo-European origin. They mostly belong to the Sunni sect of Islam though some of them are Shiites and there are minority groups that are followers of Yazidism, Judaism, Yarsan and Christianity.

The Kurds have their own language and culture. They are not Arabs and their language is closer to Persian.

There are an estimated 30 million Kurds and can mostly be found in a region that spreads over parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Traditionally the Kurds were nomads and their livelihood was typically associated with sheep and herding.

However, after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire a number of nation-states were created, with nothing for the Kurds.

The Kurds were therefore, forced to integrate into other countries and give up their nomadic ways.

The 20th century was dominated by many attempts at self-determination and establishing a separate statehood for the Kurds in the form of Kurdistan. These attempts were mostly quelled by Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

In Iraq, the Kurds' uprising was led by Mustafa Barzani between 1960 and 75.

Just when a plan allowing Kurdish autonomy was about to come into effect, the Iran-Iraq war began during which, the political powers implemented anti-Kurdish policies that were widely condemned by the international community.

Since the American-led invasion of Iraq, the Kurds are reported to have regained control of Kirkuk and parts of Mosul, with the merging of two Kurdish areas into a unified Kurdistan region.

No distinct groups

Turkey is said to be home to almost half of all Kurds and they account for up to 30 per cent of the country's total population.

They are mainly found in the south-eastern part of Turkey. Mustapha Kemal denied the existence of distinct ethnic groups such as the Kurds in the constitution of modern Turkey's establishment and so any expression of the people of their cultural identities is typically resisted.

Iranian Kurds account for 7 per cent of the country's numbers. The government has repressed many Kurdish uprisings led by prominent leaders such as Shaikh Ubaidullah against the Qajars and Simko against the Pahlavis. In 1979, Khomeini declared a holy war against the Kurds.

The government has held control over Kurd areas though the people express their cultural identity freely. They do not however, have the right to self-administration .

In 2005, after a Kurdish opposition activist, Shivan Qaderi was killed along with two other Kurds, there was widespread rioting across Kurdish villages with many deaths, injuries and arrests.

In Syria, Kurds form the largest ethnic minority. There are many restrictions on their culture such as bans on the Kurdish language, non-registration of children with Kurdish names, forbidding books and published works in Kurdish.