Kurdish militant group PKK plans to disband, end conflict with Turkey
The banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has decided to disband and end its armed conflict with Turkey, the PKK-affiliated news agency ANF reported on Monday.
At the end of February, the group's imprisoned founder, Abdullah Öcalan, had called on the group to formally disband and disarm.
The PKK has been engaged in armed conflict and attacks since the 1980s, advocating for a Kurdish state or an autonomous region in south-eastern Turkey. However, the organization has since moved away from its demand for an independent state.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, the European Union and the United States. According to the think tank International Crisis Group, approximately 40,000 people have been killed during the group's conflict with the Turkish state.
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