New Turkiye peace deal will see PKK Kurdish militant group disband [Video]

The PKK Kurdish militant group announced Monday that it will disband and disarm as part of a new peace initiative with Turkiye, ending four decades of armed conflict.

The decision by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which promises to put an end to one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East and could have significant impact in Turkiye, Syria and Iraq, was announced by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group. It comes days after the PKK convened a party congress in northern Iraq.

In February, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group to convene a congress and formally decide to disband.

The call by Ocalan, 76, who continues to wields significant influence in the Kurdish movement despite his 25-year imprisonment, marked a pivotal step toward ending the decadeslong conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of …