Kurdish PKK group to disband after deadly 40-year Turkish conflict
The PKK Kurdish militant group has announced it will disband and formally end its armed struggle against the Turkish state, in a significant move towards ending one of the world's longest-running and deadliest insurgencies.
The Turkish government hailed the announcement as an important step towards a 'terror-free Turkey' after four decades of violence that killed more than 40,000 people, mostly Kurdish civilians.
Omer Celik, a spokesman for President Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, said that the disbanding process would be 'meticulously monitored in the field by state institutions' and that an end to the conflict would be a 'victory for all our citizens'.
The announcement from the PKK came on Monday morning via a media outlet close to the group, and followed a party congress
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