PKK declares ceasefire in 40-year conflict with Turkiye

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has declared it will implement a ceasefire with Turkiye, heeding a call from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan to disarm.

The statement by the outlawed group, published by the pro-PKK Firat news agency (ANF) on Saturday, is seen as a major step towards ending a 40-year conflict with the Turkish state.

“In order to pave the way for the implementation of leader Apo’s [Ocalan’s] call for peace and democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective from today,” the PKK executive committee said in the statement quoted by ANF.

“We agree with the content of the call as it is, and we say that we will follow and implement it,” the committee said.

“None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked,” it added.

On Thursday, Ocalan made a historic call from prison for the party to lay down its arms, dissolve itself and end its decades-long conflict with the Turkish state.

The PKK said it hoped Ankara would release Ocalan, held in near total isolation since 1999, so he could lead a disarmament, adding that political and democratic conditions need to be established for the process to succeed.

The statement did not specify a timeline for the group to disband.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Turkiye would “always keep our iron fist ready in case the hand we extend is left in the air or bitten”.

Speaking at a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan added: “We will continue our ongoing [military] operations, if necessary, until we eliminate the last terrorist without leaving a single stone on top of another, without leaving a single head on his shoulder.”