The history of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) began in 1974 as a Marxist–Leninist organization under the leadership of Abdullah Öcalan. In 1978 the organization adopted the name "Kurdistan Workers Party" and waged its low-level Urban War in Turkish Kurdistan between 1978 and 1980. The PKK restructured itself and moved the organization structure to Syria between 1980 and 1984, after the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. The Kurdish-Turkish conflict began in earnest in 1984. The rural-based insurgency lasted between 1984 and 1992. The PKK shifted its activities to include urban attacks against Turkish military bases between 1993–1995 and later 1996–1999. Öcalan was captured in Kenya in early 1999. After a "self declared peace initiative of 1999", hostilities resumed in February 2004. 2013 saw another ceasefire, but the conflict resumed again in 2015 and has continued since. Since 1978, the PKK has been able to evolve and adapt, having gone through a metamorphosis, which became the main factor in its survival. It has gradually grown from a handful of political students to an armed organization of thousands. Origin The PKK's origins can be traced back to 1974, when Abdullah Öcalan and a small group of leftist students from Dev-Genç ("Revolutionary Youth") decided to develop a Kurdish-based left wing organization. The members of this new small organization actively participated in different branches of Dev-Genç. In 1971, Öcalan joined the underground movements trying to overthrow the government system, which he saw as oppressive and fascist, while he was a student at the Ankara University Political Sciences Faculty. Öcalan was also sympathetic with the People's Liberation Party of Turkey (THKO). As a result of the military coup of 1971, many militants of the revolutionary left were deprived of a public appearance, movements like the People’s Liberation Army of Turkey (THKO) or the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP-ML) were cracked down upon and forbidden. Following, several of the resting political actors of the Turkish left organized away from the public in University dorms or in meetings in shared apartments. In 1972-1973 the organization's core ideological group was made up largely of students led by Abdullah Öcalan ("Apo") in Ankara who made themselves known as the Kurdistan Revolutionaries. The new group focused on the oppressed Kurdish population of Turkish Kurdistan in a capitalist world. Öcalan used the social networks that he developed during this period to become a leader. Like "Dev-Genç", Apocus was a splinter organization. What