Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talks
The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'


What happened
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said Monday that it will disband and disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey. The decision was announced through the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the PKK, after a party congress in northern Iraq.
Who said what
Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for his group to disband in February, and the PKK declared a ceasefire March 1, on condition that Turkey create a legal framework for peace talks. "The PKK has completed its historic mission" and "decided to dissolve" its "organizational structure" and "end the armed struggle," the group said in a statement Monday morning.
The decision "promises to put an end to one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East," The Associated Press said. It should have "far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, including in neighboring Iraq and also in Syria, where Kurdish forces are allied with U.S. forces," Reuters said. The insurgency, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984, also "handicapped the regional economy for decades." Omer Celik, a spokesperson for Turkey's ruling AK Party, said the PKK's decision was an "important step toward a terror-free Turkey."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
"Details of the peace initiative have not been made public," including what will happen to the PKK's fighters, "how weapons would be disposed of and who would monitor" the process, the AP said. "Previous peace efforts between Turkey and the group — most recently in 2015 — have ended with failure."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
The Biden cover-up: a 'near-treasonous' conspiracy
Talking Point Using 'Trumpian' tactics, the former president's inner circle maintained a conspiracy of silence around his cognitive and physical decline
-
Starving Gazans overrun US-backed food aid hub
speed read Israeli troops fired warning shots at the Palestinians
-
Israel's Western allies pull back amid Gaza escalation
speed read Britain and the EU are reconsidering allegiance with Israel as the Gaza siege continues
-
Trump drops ceasefire demand after Putin call
speed read Following a phone call with Russia's president, Trump backed off an earlier demand that Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine
-
Pro-EU centrist beats Trump acolyte in Romania vote
speed read The mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, defeated hard-right nationalist George Simion in the race for Romania's presidency
-
US, China agree to lower tariffs for 90 days
speed read US tariffs will fall to 30% from 145%, while China will cut its tax on US imports to 10% from 125%
-
India strikes Pakistan as tensions mount in Kashmir
speed read Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called it an 'act of war'
-
Israel approves plan to take over Gaza indefinitely
speed read Benjamin Netanyahu says the country is 'on the eve of a forceful entry'
-
Putin talks nukes as Kyiv slated for US air defenses
speed read 'I hope they will not be required,' Putin said of nuclear weapons on Russian state TV