A Kurdish militant group that fought a four-decade insurgency against Türkiye has reportedly agreed to disband and lay down its weapons.
A news agency linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is a listed terrorist organisation in Türkiye, Australia, the United States and Europe, says it resolved to disband at a meeting in eastern Türkiye last week.
"The PKK has completed its historic mission," the group said, according to the Firat news agency, which published what it said was the closing declaration of a congress that the PKK held in northern Iraq, where it is based.
The group's jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, had called for the disbanding as part of a deal offered by the Turkish government for his release.
The PKK began its insurgency in pursuit of a Kurdish state, then later, greater Kurdish rights and autonomy.
On March 1, the PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire but attached conditions, including the creation of a legal framework for peace negotiations.
The conflict between Türkiye and the PKK has spilled over into northern Iraq and northern Syria.
In the statement published by Firat News, the PKK announced its decision to end its "organisational structure," suggesting that its armed struggle has successfully challenged policies that sought to suppress Kurdish rights.
The congress assessed that the PKK's struggle had "brought the Kurdish issue to the point of resolution through democratic politics, thus completing its historical mission," according to the statement.
"As a result, activities carried out under the name 'PKK' were formally terminated," the statement said.
Details of the peace initiative have not been made public and it was not clear how the process would proceed, including how weapons would be disposed of and who would monitor the procedures.
The future of PKK fighters remains uncertain, including whether they may be relocated to third countries. Any concessions the PKK might obtain in exchange for its decision to disband have not been disclosed.
"The PKK struggle has broken the policy of denial and annihilation of our people and brought the Kurdish issue to a point of solving it through democratic politics," the statement said.
The PKK's decision will give President Tayyip Erdogan the opportunity to boost development in the mainly Kurdish south-east, where the insurgency has handicapped the regional economy for decades.
Ömer Çelik, a spokesperson for President Erdogan's ruling AK Party, said the PKK's decision to dissolve was an "an important step toward a terror-free Türkiye".
The decision to dissolve is significant for Kurdish people and the Middle East as a whole, the deputy co-chair of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party Tayip Temel said.
"The PKK's decision to end its existence and embark on a new transformation will also necessitate a major shift in the official state mentality of Türkiye, and compel the adoption of a new paradigm," Mr Temel told Reuters
Previous peace efforts between Türkiye and the group — most recently in 2015 — have ended with failure.
The announcement by the PKK comes against a backdrop of major changes in the region, including the coming to power of a new administration in Syria, the weakening of the Hezbollah militant movement in Lebanon and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
In recent years, the PKK has been limited to isolated attacks inside Türkiye as the Turkish military, backed by armed drones, has pushed PKK insurgents increasingly across the mountainous border into Iraq.
The latest peace initiative was launched in October by Mr Erdogan's coalition partner, Devlet Bahçeli, a far-right politician who suggested that Öcalan could be granted parole if his group renounces violence and disbands.
Around 40,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict, which devastated some large eastern Turkish cities and spilled into Iraq and Syria.
ABC/wires
