Hizbullah (Turkey)

Kurdish Hezbollah (Kurdish: حیزبوڵڵای کورد, romanized: Hizbullahî Kurdî, Turkish: Kürt Hizbullahı), also known as Hizbullah or Turkish Hezbollah, is a Kurdish Shia–Sunni Islamist militant organization, active against Turkey, and formerly against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) due to clashes that occurred between 1992 and 1995. The organization, founded by Hüseyin Velioğlu, remains a primarily Kurdish group that has its roots in the predominantly Kurdish border of Southeastern Turkey and among Kurds who migrated to the cities in Western Turkey. The Kurdish Hezbollah began shifting increasingly towards Kurdish nationalism during Velioğlu's final years, and after Velioğlu's death, under İsa Altsoy's leadership, they disarmed and began focusing on charity work for the Kurdish population living in Turkey under various organizations. The Hezbollah reestablished in 2003 in Southeastern Turkey and "today its ideology might be more widespread than ever among Kurds there". Kurdish Hezbollah's influence was not limited to Turkey and it has also "left an imprint on Turkish Kurds in Germany." The Kurdish Hezbollah is closely affiliated with the Free Cause Party (HÜDA PAR).