Kurdistan | PKK announces withdrawal of its fighters from Turkey

Berlin. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has announced that it will withdraw its fighters from Turkey. This step comes as part of a peace process with the Turkish government – ​​the PKK had already symbolically laid down its weapons in July. A statement published on the PKK-affiliated news website ANF stated that fighters would be withdrawn to the "media defense zones." This term is often used to describe the areas in northern Iraq – the PKK's headquarters are located in the northern Iraqi Qandil Mountains.

The PKK is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, the EU, and the US. In May, the PKK announced its dissolution, following a call from its imprisoned founder, Abdullah Öcalan.

Turkish ruling party speaks of important milestone

A parliamentary commission is tasked with creating the legal framework for the peace process. Many questions remain unanswered, such as how the possible social reintegration of PKK members at home and abroad might take place and whether prisoners considered political prisoners will be released.

Efkan Ala, deputy chairman of the Islamic-conservative ruling AKP party, welcomed the PKK's announcement. He wrote on Platform X that this was an important step toward combating terrorism.

The PKK was founded by Öcalan in Turkey in 1978, primarily as a reaction to the political, social, and cultural oppression of the Kurds in the country. Since the 1980s, it has fought with armed force and attacks for a Kurdish state or autonomous region in southeastern Turkey. Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict. Öcalan, in his mid-70s, has been imprisoned on the prison island of Imrali since 1999. dpa/nd