Kurdish PKK militants begin pullback from Turkey amid disarmament

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has announced the completion of its full withdrawal of all armed forces from Turkish territory, signalling an important milestone in the complex, decades-long peace process with Ankara.

The formal statement, read out from the PKK’s base in the mountainous Qandil area of northern Iraq on Sunday, formally concludes the months-long disarming phase, building upon the group’s decision to formally renounce its 40-year armed struggle back in May 2025.

This transition is set to bring an end to a protracted conflict that has claimed an estimated 50,000 lives and reshaped the geopolitical landscape of the region for decades.

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The peace initiative was set in motion approximately a year ago after the Turkish government, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, offered an unexpected olive branch to the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, opening the door for negotiations. The process had gained international attention in July when the group held a symbolic ceremony to destroy a first batch of weapons—an event President Erdogan previously hailed as “an irreversible turning point.”

During the announcement, the PKK confirmed that its fighters, including a contingent of 25 shown in a released image, have successfully relocated across the border into their safe zones in northern Iraq.

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The group affirmed this definitive withdrawal as a strategic pivot towards democratic politics, intending to replace armed insurgency with legal and political engagement to peacefully defend the rights of the Kurdish minority in Turkey.

Crucially, the PKK said that the onus is now on Ankara to fulfill its commitments to the nascent agreement.

The group urged Turkish authorities to “put in place without delay” the necessary “legal and political steps,” specifically citing “laws of freedom and democratic integration,” that would facilitate their movement’s ability to participate legitimately in the country’s democratic processes.