Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, have begun laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony marking the first step toward the group’s promised disarmament. The move on

A ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday saw a handful of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants lay down their weapons, a small but hugely symbolic gesture that marks the beginning of an end to a conflict with the Turkish state that’s lasted nearly five decades and cost tens of thousands of lives.

Turkey must push through legal reforms to allow PKK militants to return home without fear of being jailed or killed, a top commander told AFP after the Kurdish militant group began disarming Friday.

Kurdish militants want to return to Turkey and enter mainstream politics, one of the PKK's joint leaders told AFP on Friday after the group's fighters began destroying their arms at a ceremony in Iraq.

Bahçeli also commended the DEM Party for maintaining what he described as a responsible political stance. Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, who initiated the current peace process in October, has issued a written statement welcoming the PKK’s disarmament move earlier today.

The imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party has renewed his call for fighters to disarm. Abdullah Ocalan emphasized in a video message on Wednesday the importance of abandoning armed conflict and embracing peace through politics.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq is expected to give up its weapons within a few months following its decision to dissolve.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Presidency's spokesperson on Thursday thanked Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for their 'confidence' in the Region to host the historic ceremony where tens of PKK fighters will lay down arms.