President Tayyip Erdogan declared on Saturday that an historic turning point had been reached in Türkiye’s four-decade conflict with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after 30 fighters burned their weapons in northern Iraq.
Thirty PKK fighters torched rifles and explosives at the mouth of a cave in Iraq’s Qandil Mountains on Friday, the first formal surrender of arms since the insurgency began in 1984.
“As of yesterday, the scourge of terrorism has entered the process of ending,” President Erdogan told party supporters in Istanbul. “Today is a new day; a new page has opened in history.”
The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Türkiye, the European Union and the U.S., has waged an on-off guerrilla campaign that Ankara says has cost more than 40,000 lives. Previous ceasefire efforts collapsed in 2015, and the group’s top leadership remains outside Türkiye’s jurisdiction in the rugged Iraq–Iran border region.
Friday’s symbolic disarmament involves only a fraction of the estimated 5,000 to 10,000 PKK combatants still active across Iraq, Syria and south-east Türkiye, analysts note. No timetable has been announced for further hand-overs or for political talks.
Turkish media reported that government officials had verified the fighters identities before the ceremony, but the interior ministry did not immediately comment on whether amnesties would be offered.
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Stalled U.S.–Iran talks and mounting regional tensions are exposing a growing strategic rift between Washington and Tel Aviv over how to confront Tehran, political analyst James M. Dorsey says, exposing stark differences in approach at a critical moment.
Türkiye and Greece signalled renewed political will to ease long-standing tensions during high-level talks in Ankara on Wednesday (11 February). Maritime borders, migration and trade topped the agenda as both leaders struck a cautiously optimistic tone.
BMW is recalling a mid six figure number of vehicles worldwide after identifying a potential fire risk linked to the starter motor.
The suspect in a deadly school shooting in western Canada was an 18-year-old woman who allegedly killed her mother and stepbrother before attacking her former school. Investigators have not provided a motive for what is being described as one of the worst mass killings in Canada.
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Türkiye and Syria plan to establish a joint coordination system aimed at streamlining communication between the two countries and countering disinformation, a senior Turkish official said on Thursday.
Georgia’s Foreign Ministry has raised concerns over reports that the Kulevi oil terminal on the country’s Black Sea coast could be included in a future European Union sanctions package against Russia.
The United States is sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran, U.S. media outlets reported on Thursday, 12 February, in an effort to reinforce its naval presence as diplomatic efforts falter.
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