The outlawed Kurdish-militant group Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced on Sunday that it will withdraw its remaining fighters from Turkish territory into Iraqi Kurdistan, calling the step part of a broader peace process with the Turkish government.
In a statement issued from northern Iraq, the PKK said, “To prevent any risk of clashes or provocations, we are currently withdrawing all our forces within Turkey to the Medya Defence Area with Abdullah Öcalan’s approval.” The Medya Defence Area is a term used by the PKK to refer to its stronghold in northern Iraq.
The announcement follows the PKK’s earlier declaration in May that it would disarm and dissolve its armed structure, after Öcalan called for an end to more than four decades of insurgency. Sabri Ok, identified as a senior figure in the PKK-allied umbrella organisation, stressed that the group is now committed to implementing the decisions of its 12th Congress but warned that the Turkish state must enact “legal and political approaches” for the process to succeed.
Ankara welcomed the development with caution. Turkish government spokesman Ömer Çelik described the withdrawal as a “concrete result” of the state’s roadmap toward a “terror-free Turkey,” but he warned that the peace process remains vulnerable to sabotage and urged “maximum care” be taken to protect it.
The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which the Turkish state and its Western allies designate as a terrorist organisation, has spanned more than 40 years and claimed tens of thousands of lives across Turkey and northern Iraq. Analysts say the withdrawal could mark a turning point if matched by political and legal reforms in Turkey, but caution that previous peace efforts have failed and the road ahead remains fraught.
