Kurdish Militant Group Announces End to Decades-Long Conflict With Turkey

On Monday, the Kurdish armed group that has engaged in a violent struggle against Turkey for over 40 years announced it would lay down its weapons and bring the conflict to a close, a move that could have significant implications for the region.

This declaration from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, widely known by its Kurdish acronym P.K.K., follows a call from its incarcerated leader, Abdullah Ocalan, earlier this year urging the organization to disarm and dissolve. In a message sent in February, Ocalan stated that the armed campaign had outlived its original goals.

Originally founded as a separatist movement aiming to establish an independent state for Turkey’s Kurdish minority, the P.K.K. has more recently shifted its focus toward demanding enhanced rights and recognition for Kurds within Turkey’s borders.