PKK reportedly disbands, ending four decade long armed conflict with Turkiye

Express Tribune

12-05-2025

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The PKK terror group has officially declared its dissolution, bringing an end to over four decades of armed conflict with the Turkish state.
This significant decision was announced by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet closely affiliated with the outfit.
The PKK's 12th congress, held in northern Iraq, concluded with a resolution to disband and cease its armed struggle, aligning with a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan, who has advocated for peace and democratic solutions.
The Turkish government's response remains cautious, with officials expressing hope that this development will lead to lasting peace.
The PKK, recognised as a terrorist group by NATO, the United States and the European Union, has taken some 40,000 lives in its terror campaign against Türkiye that began in the late 1970s.
Greek authorities said in 1999 that Athens had given Ocalan temporary refuge at its diplomatic compound in Kenya.
However, Ocalan chose to go with Kenyan authorities to the airport to fly to Amsterdam, but was captured by Turkish authorities.
Ocalan was arrested by Turkish forces and sentenced to death for forming armed gangs under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code.
The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment as the death penalty was abolished in Turkiye in 2004.
Ocalan on February 27 this year called for the dissolution of the PKK and all groups under it, urging an end to its terror campaign.
The disarmament of the terrorist group PKK could pose a threat to Israel's interests in Syria, according to Israeli media reports.
According to the Israeli press, a major change is likely to take place in the region with last week's call of Abdullah Ocalan, the terrorist group ringleader, for the PKK to lay down its arms and dissolve itself.
This change has the potential to harm Israel's interests while boosting Türkiye's influence, the media argued.