PKK Fighters to Begin Disarmament in Northern Iraq

PKK Fighters to Begin Disarmament in Northern Iraq
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Militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) will start handing over their weapons in Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq, on Friday as part of a peace deal with Turkiye, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported. The PKK, which has fought the Turkish state for over 40 years, announced plans to disband in May following a February appeal by its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan.

According to NTV, Ocalan is expected to send a video message — his first since 1999 — to guide the disarmament process, which may take two to five months. The fighters will remain in Iraq but cease PKK operations.

A pro-Kurdish DEM party delegation met President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to discuss the plan, while Turkiye’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin is visiting Baghdad for related talks. Despite the peace push, clashes and Turkish raids on PKK sites continue. The conflict has claimed over 40,000 lives since 1984.