PKK terrorists start disarming in northern Iraq
On Friday, PKK terrorists began surrendering their weapons in northern Iraq, marking the initial phase of their dissolution.
This move comes two months after the group announced its decision to end a decades-long terror campaign in alignment with Türkiye's ongoing terror-free initiative, News.Az reports, citing Turkish media.
A group of around 30 PKK terrorists who took part in fighting Turkish security forces in recent years destroyed their weapons in the ceremony taking place in Sulaymaniyah, a city the PKK has maintained a military and political foothold for years now.
“Thirty PKK terrorists, four of whom were commanders, burned their weapons,” said an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent who was present at the brief ceremony in a cave near the city.
The disarmament ceremony marks a symbolic but significant step toward ending the PKK’s bloody operations that have claimed thousands of lives since the 1980s.
The ceremony drew in large crowds from around northern Iraq, as well as southeastern Türkiye. Among who attended were a Turkish delegation including lawmakers from the PKK-affiliated Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and a handful of journalists.
The handover of weapons should be completed within a few months, a spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) said late Wednesday.
Speaking to broadcaster NTV, Ömer Çelik said a confirmation mechanism, including officials from Turkish intelligence and the armed forces, will oversee the handover process.
“The disarmament process (in Iraq) needs to be completed within three to five months... If it exceeds this period, it will become vulnerable to provocations,” Çelik said.
The move is a key step in the monthslong terror-free push that began last year in October when Devlet Bahçeli, head of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), called on PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan to order the group to lay down arms.
After talks back and forth with a delegation of DEM Party lawmakers, Öcalan agreed and made his historic call to the terrorist group in February.
The PKK finally announced in May it would disband and end its operations that have claimed thousands of lives since 1980s.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the initiative would gain momentum after the PKK began laying down its weapons.
"The process will gain a little more speed when the terrorist organization starts to implement its decision to lay down arms," he said at the weekend.
"We hope this auspicious process will end successfully as soon as possible, without mishaps or sabotage attempts," he added on Wednesday.
The president is expected to address the nation early on Saturday to make a “historic” announcement on the matter.
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