Kurdish Militant Group Pkk To Disband After Four-decade Insurgency Against Turkey

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced connected Monday that it will disband and disarm pursuing its much than four-decade insurgency against nan Turkish state that has resulted successful nan deaths of complete 40,000 group astatine nan hands of PKK militants and Turkey’s military.

The PKK has sought to create an independent Kurdish authorities connected Turkish soil, wherever the Kurds dress up immoderate 20% of Turkey's 86 cardinal population. The U.S., nan European Union and Turkey person classified nan PKK arsenic a violent organization.

In its statement, nan PKK said, according to a Reuters report, it "has completed its historical mission," which complete nan years shifted to seeking greater Kurdish authorities and constricted autonomy successful southeast Turkey, alternatively than an independent state.

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Supporters cheer President Recep Tayyip Erdogan astatine an predetermination rally successful Ankara, Turkey, connected June 5, 2015.

"The PKK struggle has surgery nan argumentation of denial and annihilation of our group and brought nan Kurdish rumor to a constituent of solving it done antiauthoritarian politics," it said connected nan Firat news website, which showed images of elder PKK members attending nan legislature successful combatant fatigues.

Turkey will return basal measures to guarantee soft advancement toward a "terror-free" state aft nan PKK decision, said Turkey’s statesmanlike communications director, Fahrettin Altun.

The dissolution of nan PKK raises a big of questions for nan Islamist authorities of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and nan pro-American Kurdish forces (YPG) successful bluish Syrian who helped conclusion nan Islamist State violent movement. Turkey considers nan YPG an connection of nan PKK and has many times launched subject strikes against Syrian Kurds. 

A female waves a emblem base a image of nan laminitis of nan Kurdistan Workers' Party, Abdullah Ocalan, arsenic group stitchery successful nan Kurdish-majority metropolis of Qamishli successful northeastern Syria connected Feb. 27, 2025. (Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)

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The jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been held connected an land southbound of Istanbul since 1999, urged successful February that nan PKK disband. 

Separately, Mazloum Abdi, nan pro-American commandant successful main of Syrian Kurdish fighters, called nan Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which ousted nan Islamic State, said Ocalan’s telephone did not use to his organization. The YPG is portion of nan larger umbrella organization, nan SDF, and is not associated pinch nan PKK.

People time off nan area aft an detonation connected Istanbul's celebrated pedestrian Istiklal Avenue, Nov. 13, 2022. (Ismail Coskun/IHA via AP)

The U.S. and nan EU are allied pinch nan SDF and nan YPG successful nan conflict against Islamist coercion successful Syria and, successful opposition to Turkey, do not spot an affiliation betwixt nan SDF, YPG and nan PKK.  

Fox News Digital has reported complete nan years on Turkey’s efforts to swipe retired pro-U.S. Syrian Kurdish forces (SDF and YPG) who played a cardinal domiciled successful nan dismantlement of nan Islamic State.

Syrian Democratic Forces fighters thrust atop subject vehicles arsenic they observe triumph successful Raqqa, Syria, Oct. 17, 2017. (Reuters/Erik De Castro)

In December, aft erstwhile Syrian dictator Bashar Assad fled to Russia and his authorities collapsed, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., declared repeatedly successful an reside to Erdoğan in Congress, "Leave nan Kurds alone." He added, "The Kurds are America's friends… The group astir responsible for helping us, astir responsible for destroying ISIS, were nan Kurds."

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The Kurds are among the largest stateless taste groups successful nan world, pinch immoderate 30 cardinal concentrated successful an area straddling Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. A number successful each 4 countries, nan Kurds speak their ain language, pinch respective dialects. Most are Sunni Muslims.