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Kurdish PKK militia declares ceasefire with Turkey

By AAP Newswire

Mar 1, 2025

A flag of Abdullah Ocalan, jailed leader of the rebel PKK — Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan on Thursday called on the PKK to lay down its arms and dissolve. -AP

Kurdish militants who have waged a 40-year insurgency in Turkey have declared a ceasefire, two days after their imprisoned leader called for the group to disarm.

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The statement from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, was published on Saturday by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group.

Referring to Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned by Turkey since 1999, the group said: "We declare a ceasefire effective today to pave the way for the implementation of Leader Apo's Call for Peace and Democratic Society.Â

"None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked."

Ocalan on Thursday called on the PKK to lay down its arms and dissolve, a move that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government and the opposition pro-Kurdish DEM party have voiced support for.

If successful, the move could have wide-ranging implications for the region, while ending a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people since the PKK - now based in the mountains of northern Iraq - launched its armed insurgency in 1984.

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has led to tens of thousands of deaths since it began in 1984.

with Reuters