Kurdish PKK militants announce withdrawal from Türkiye as part of disarmament

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced on Sunday that it was withdrawing from Türkiye as part of a disarmament process being coordinated with the government, urging Ankara to take concrete steps to advance the initiative.

The PKK, which has fought an armed insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, agreed in May to lay down its arms following a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan, to end the conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

In July, the group designated a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union, symbolically burned some of its weapons to demonstrate good faith.

In a statement from northern Iraq, the PKK said it had decided to withdraw all its fighters to create the foundations for a “free, democratic and brotherly life,” as it moves into the next phase of disarmament and integration. The statement reaffirmed the PKK’s commitment to the peace process and called on the Turkish government to take “legal and political” measures without delay, including legislation that would allow the group’s transition into “democratic politics.”

Omer Celik, spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AK Party, wrote on X that the PKK’s withdrawal represented tangible progress towards the government’s goal of a “terror-free Türkiye” and would help shape the “positive framework” for a parliamentary commission overseeing the legal aspects of the process.

The PKK has long been based in northern Iraq, having been driven from Türkiye’s southeastern border areas in recent years. Türkiye continues to conduct regular air strikes against PKK targets in the region and maintains several military outposts there.

Over time, the PKK’s objectives have shifted from pursuing full independence to seeking greater cultural and political rights for Kurds, along with limited autonomy in Türkiye’s mainly Kurdish southeast.

Ankara insists that Kurdish rights are protected but has made clear it will not tolerate any separatist ambitions. The resolution of Türkiye’s decades-long conflict with the PKK could have far-reaching regional implications, particularly in neighbouring Syria, where U.S.-backed Kurdish forces are viewed by Ankara as an offshoot of the PKK.

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