List of wars involving Turkey

This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Turkey and includes conflicts such as coups, insurgencies, offensives, border and international disputes since the Turkish War of Independence in 1919. For wars before 1919, involving the Ottoman Empire, see List of wars involving the Ottoman Empire.

Turkish victory

Another result *

Turkish defeat

Ongoing conflict

*e.g. a treaty or peace without a clear result, status quo ante bellum, result of civil or internal conflict, result unknown or indecisive, inconclusive

Wars

More information Conflict, Turkey and allies ...

Conflict	Turkey and allies	Opponent(s)	Results	Leaders
Conflict	Turkey and allies	Opponent(s)	Results	President(s)	Prime Minister(s) / Vice President(s)
War of Independence (1919–1922) Franco-Turkish War (1918–1921) Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Turkish–Armenian War (1920)	Turkish Nationalists: Ankara Government (1919–1920; 1920–1923) Also: Azerbaijan (1918–1920) Aras Republic (1918–1919) Iğdır National Republic (1918–1920) Provisional Kars Government (1918–1919) Green Army (1919–1920) Oltu Council Government (1919–1920) Kurdistan^[1] (1919; 1921–1923)	Allied powers: Greece France (until 1921)^[c] French West Africa^[2] Armenian Legion Algeria^[2] Morocco^[2] Tunisia^[2] United Kingdom^[d] India^[3]^[4]^[5] Armenia (in 1920) Istanbul Government^[e] (in 1920) Other pro-Istanbul rebels Georgia (in 1921) Separatists: Pontic Greek rebels Kurdish rebels Assyrian rebels Green Army (1920–1921)	Turkish victory^[6]^[7] Establishment of the Republic of Turkey	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk	Fevzi Çakmak Rauf Orbay Fethi Okyar
Sheikh Said rebellion (1925)	Turkey	Azadî	Victory Revolt suppressed	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk	İsmet İnönü
Ararat rebellion (1927–1930)	Turkey	Republic of Ararat	Victory Revolt suppressed	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk	İsmet İnönü
Dersim massacre (1937–1938)	Turkey	Kurdish Alevi rebels	Victory Revolt suppressed	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk	İsmet İnönü Celâl Bayar
World War II (1939–1945) Turkish declaration of war on Germany and Japan	United States Soviet Union United Kingdom China France Poland Canada Australia New Zealand India South Africa Yugoslavia Greece Denmark Norway Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg Czechoslovakia Brazil Mexico Chile Bolivia Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Venezuela Uruguay Argentina Turkey	Germany Japan Italy Hungary Romania Bulgaria Croatia Slovakia Finland Thailand Manchukuo Mengjiang	Victory Collapse of the German Reich Fall of Japanese and Italian Empires Creation of the United Nations Emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers Beginning of the Cold War	İsmet İnönü	Şükrü Saracoğlu
Korean War (1950–1953)	South Korea UN Command United States United Kingdom Canada Turkey Australia Philippines New Zealand Thailand Ethiopia Greece France Colombia Belgium South Africa Netherlands Luxembourg	North Korea China Soviet Union	Stalemate Korean Armistice Agreement	Celâl Bayar	Adnan Menderes
Turkish invasion of Cyprus (1974)	Turkey TMT	Cyprus Greece	Victory Turkish overall control of 36.2% of Cyprus	Fahri Korutürk	Bülent Ecevit
Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency (1978–2025) Turkish operations during the conflict	Turkey Ministry of National Defense General Staff Special Forces Command TAF Turkish Air Force Turkish Land Forces Turkish Naval Forces Ministry of Interior Turkish National Police Police Special Operations Gendarmerie General Command JİTEM (until early 1990s) JÖH Village Guards^[8]^[9] National Intelligence Organization Other forces: Counter-Guerrilla (Until 1992) Grey Wolves (Not militarily involved)^[10] Turkish Revenge Brigade (Not militarily involved)^[11]^[12]^[13] Some Kurdish tribes (until 1985; became Village Guards)^[14]^[15]	Kurdistan Communities Union PKK HPG YJA-STAR YDG-H: YPS YPS-Jin SDF YPG^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21] YPG International YPJ Anti-Terror Units PJAK YRK HPJ Sinjar Alliance Êzîdxan Women's Units Sinjar Resistance Units HBDH DKP MKP-HKO-PHG MLKP THKP-C/MLSPB-DC TKEP/L TKP/ML^[22] DK (until 2017)^[a] International Freedom Battalion TAK	2025 Turkey–PKK peace process Arrest of Abdullah Öcalan on February 15, 1999, in Nairobi, Kenya. Attempted peace process initiated in 2012, failed in 2015.^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26] A second peace process initiated in 2024. Öcalan calls on PKK to disarm and dissolve on February 27, 2025, PKK declares unilateral ceasefire with Turkey and beginning of dissolution process on 1 March.^[27] PKK convenes congress between 5-7 May, declares dissolution and end of conflict on 12 May 2025.^[28]^[29]	Fahri Korutürk Kenan Evren Turgut Özal Süleyman Demirel Ahmet Necdet Sezer Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Bülent Ecevit Süleyman Demirel Bülend Ulusu Turgut Özal Yıldırım Akbulut Mesut Yılmaz Tansu Çiller Necmettin Erbakan Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Ahmet Davutoğlu Binali Yıldırım Fuat Oktay Cevdet Yılmaz
Gulf War (1990–1991)	Kuwait United States United Kingdom Saudi Arabia Egypt France Coalition: Afghanistan^[30] Syria^[31] Morocco Oman Pakistan Canada United Arab Emirates Qatar Bangladesh Italy Australia Netherlands Germany Philippines Sweden Turkey^[32] Argentina Senegal Spain Bahrain Belgium Poland South Korea Singapore Norway Czechoslovakia Greece Denmark^[33] New Zealand Hungary	Iraq Republic of Kuwait (Iraqi puppet state)	Victory Iraqi forces expelled from Kuwait Kuwaiti independence restored Destruction of Iraqi and Kuwaiti infrastructure Shia and Kurdish uprisings against the Iraqi government Saddam Hussein regime of the Iraqi Baathist government retains power in Iraq UN sanctions against Iraq Iraqi no-fly zones established United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 establishes cease-fire terms, beginning of the Iraq disarmament controversies State of Kuwait restored Iraqi Kurdistan obtains autonomy, establishment of the northern Iraq no fly zone by the US'	Turgut Özal	Yıldırım Akbulut
Bosnian War (1995) (Participant in NATO Operation Deliberate Force)	NATO Belgium Canada Denmark France Germany Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Turkey United Kingdom United States	Republika Srpska	Victory^[34] Turkey committed 8 of 173 aircraft in the NATO force,^[34] flew 2.2 percent of sorties^[35] Dayton Agreement, deployment of NATO-led IFOR	Süleyman Demirel	Tansu Çiller
Iraqi Kurdish Civil War (1997)	KDP Turkey	PUK PKK	Ceasefire Peace treaty between the KDP and the PUK	Süleyman Demirel	Necmettin Erbakan Mesut Yılmaz
Kosovo War (1998–1999) (Participant in NATO Operation Allied Force)	UÇK NATO Belgium Canada Denmark France Germany Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Turkey United Kingdom United States	FR Yugoslavia	Victory Turkey committed 11 F-16 aircraft to the NATO force, and US use of air bases^[36] Kumanovo Treaty	Süleyman Demirel	Mesut Yılmaz Bülent Ecevit
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)	Afghanistan ISAF United States United Kingdom Australia Canada Germany France Italy Czech Republic Netherlands Turkey Romania Georgia South Korea Poland Denmark Sweden Norway Finland Singapore New Zealand Mongolia Hungary Belgium Estonia Latvia Lithuania Portugal Albania Slovenia	Taliban	Taliban victory / Turkish-allied defeat Fall of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 2001 International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) concluded their mission in 2014^[37] Resolute Support Mission (RSM) was a non-combat mission and terminated in 2021 with the US-led withdrawal^[38] Taliban control over Afghanistan increases compared to pre-intervention territory Return of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in 2021	Ahmet Necdet Sezer Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Bülent Ecevit Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Ahmet Davutoğlu Binali Yıldırım Fuat Oktay
Boko Haram insurgency (2009–present)	Multinational Joint Task Force Nigeria Cameroon Chad Niger Benin Local militias and vigilantes CJTF, BOYES (Nigeria) Comités de vigilance (Chad, Cameroon) Dan banga (Niger) Foreign mercenaries STTEP Turkey	Boko Haram (partially aligned with ISIL from 2015)^[b] Shekau faction Several minor factions ISWAP (originally Barnawi faction of Boko Haram; from 2016) Ansaru^[c]	Ongoing	Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Ahmet Davutoğlu Binali Yıldırım Fuat Oktay Cevdet Yılmaz
First Libyan Civil War (2011) (Assisted NATO military intervention)	NTC Qatar NATO coalition United States United Kingdom France Belgium Bulgaria Canada Denmark Greece Italy Netherlands Norway Romania Spain Turkey Sweden Jordan United Arab Emirates	Libya	Victory Turkey helped enforce the no-fly zone and naval blockade^[39] The NTC assumed interim control of Libya	Abdullah Gül	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Syrian civil war (2011–2024) Operation Euphrates Shield (2016–2017) Operation Olive Branch (2018–2019) Operation Peace Spring (2019) Operation Spring Shield (2020) Operation Deterrence of Aggression (2024)	Syria Syrian Opposition Turkey Qatar Saudi Arabia (2012-2017, 2024)	Ba'athist Syria Russia^[40] Iran^[41] Hezbollah	Victory Turkish occupation of Northern Syria Turkish military operation in Idlib Governorate Fall of the Assad regime in 2024 Defeat of the Iranian intervention in the Syrian civil war Return of refugees of the Syrian civil war	Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Ahmet Davutoğlu Binali Yıldırım Fuat Oktay Cevdet Yılmaz
Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war (2011–2025) Operation Euphrates Shield (2016–2017) Operation Olive Branch (2018–2019) Operation Peace Spring (2019) Operation Spring Shield (2020)	Turkey Syria Syrian Opposition	Syrian Democratic Forces IFB Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Ba'athist Syria Russia^[42] Iran^[43] Libyan National Army Hezbollah	Ongoing Turkish occupation of Northern Syria Turkish military operation in Idlib Governorate Fall of the Assad regime in 2024 Syrian peace process	Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Ahmet Davutoğlu Binali Yıldırım Fuat Oktay Cevdet Yılmaz
Mali War (2012–present)	Government of Mali Military of Mali France (2013–2022) Turkey (2014–present) Germany (2017–present) ECOWAS Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Niger Sierra Leone Senegal Togo MINUSMA (2013–2023) Chad Burundi Gabon South Africa Rwanda Tanzania Uganda China Sweden Estonia Egypt United Kingdom Portugal Non-state combatants: Ganda Iso MAA-Loyaliste MSA (from 2016) GATIA (from 2014) Wagner Group (from 2021)^[d] Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA) MAA-CMA	Al-Qaeda Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (2017–present) Al-Mourabitoun (2013–17) Ansar al-Sharia (2012–present) Ansar Dine (2012–17) AQIM (2012–17) Macina Liberation Front (2015–17) MOJWA (2011–13) Nigerian jihadist volunteers (2012–13) Boko Haram (2012–13)^[44] Ansaru (2012–13)^[45] Islamic State Islamic State in the Greater Sahara	Ongoing Turkish intervention intensifies in 2022	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Fuat Oktay Cevdet Yılmaz
American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2017)	Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan CJTF–OIR United States Australia Belgium Canada Denmark France Germany Jordan Morocco Netherlands United Kingdom Turkey	ISIS	Victory Turkish intervention in July 2015	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Ahmet Davutoğlu Binali Yıldırım
Turkish intervention in Libya (2020–present)	Turkey Syrian Interim Government SADAT International Defense Consultancy In support of: Government of National Accord (until 2021) Government of National Unity (since 2021) Supported by: Italy^[46] Malta^[47] Qatar^[48]^[49]	House of Representatives Ba'athist Syria^[50] Wagner Group Gaddafi loyalists Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya Supported by: Egypt^[51] Greece^[52] Saudi Arabia^[53] France^[54] Russia^[55] United Arab Emirates^[54]	Ongoing Turkish-GNA victory Turkey and its proxies pushed LNA out of Tripoli; ceasefire^[56] GNA repelled the LNA offensive and advanced towards Sirte and Western Libya	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Fuat Oktay Cevdet Yılmaz

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Notes

[a]
Merged with the Revolutionary Communard Party (DKP) in 2017.
[b]
Following Mohammed Yusuf's death, Boko Haram splintered into numerous factions which no longer operated under a unified leadership. Though Abubakar Shekau eventually became the preeminent commander of the movement, he never really controlled all Boko Haram groups. Instead, the factions were loosely allied, but also occasionally clashed with each other. This situation changed in 2015 when Shekau pledged allegiance to ISIL. The leadership of ISIL eventually decided to replace Shekau as a local commander with Abu Mus'ab al-Barnawi, whereupon the movement split completely. Shekau no longer recognized the authority of ISIL's central command, and his loyalists started to openly fight the followers of al-Barnawi. Regardless, Shekau did never officially renounce his pledge of allegiance to ISIL as a whole; his forces are thus occasionally regarded as "second branch of ISWAP". Overall, the relation of Shekau with ISIL remains confused and ambiguous.
[c]
The exact origin of Ansaru is unclear, but it had already existed as Boko Haram faction before officially announcing its foundation as separate group on 1 January 2012. The group has no known military presence in Nigeria since 2015, but several of its members appear to be still active.
[d]
The participation of the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, has been denied by both Russia and Mali, which insist Russia is only sending military advisors.

List of wars involving Turkey

Wars

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