The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group said on Sunday it was withdrawing from Turkey as part of a disarmament process it is coordinating with the government, and pressed Ankara for concrete measures to move the process along.
Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) line up during a disarmament ceremony marking a significant step toward ending the decades-long conflict between Turkey and the outlawed group in Qandil mountains, Iraq October 26, 2025. Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group said on Sunday it was withdrawing from Turkey as part of a disarmament process it is coordinating with the government, and pressed Ankara for concrete measures to move the process along.
The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, decided in May to disarm and disband after a call to end its armed struggle from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan. The fighting has killed more than 40,000 people.
In July, the group, designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and European Union, burned some weapons in a symbolic act of good faith.
In a statement from northern Iraq on Sunday, the PKK said it had decided to withdraw all of its militants to lay the foundations of what it called a "free, democratic and brotherly life", while carrying the processes of disarmament and integration into a next phase.
It said the move showed the PKK's commitment to the process and that the Turkish government should now also take "legal and political" steps without delay. Ankara should pave the way for the PKK's transition into "democratic politics" through laws on integration, it added.
Omer Celik, spokesman for President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party, said on X that the PKK's withdrawal decision marked a concrete result of the government's "terror-free Turkey" goal, and would help shape the "positive framework" to be established by a parliamentary commission for the legal leg of the process.
The PKK has been based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Turkey's southeastern frontier in recent years. Turkey's military carries out regular strikes on PKK bases in the region and established several military outposts there.
Over the years, the PKK's goals shifted from seeking an independent state to seeking greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey.
Turkey says it protects Kurdish rights but that it will not allow separatist moves.
The end of NATO-member Turkey's conflict with the PKK could have consequences across the region, including in neighbouring Syria where the United States is allied with Syrian Kurdish forces that Ankara deems a PKK offshoot.
Editing by Sonali Paul
Iraq's parliament has elected Kurdish politician Nizar Amedi as the country's new president on Saturday, marking a significant moment in the nation's political transition following parliamentary elections held in November.
Pakistan has sent fighter jets and other military forces to Saudi Arabia to boost security under a defence pact between the two countries, the Saudi defence ministry said on Saturday, as Islamabad hosted talks aimed at ending the Iran war.
Britain's armed services minister Al Carns has praised Ukraine's drone technology as among the best in the world, suggesting Kyiv could play a meaningful role in international efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid an ongoing Iranian blockade.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.