Marking new phase in peace process… PKK announces complete withdrawal from Türkiye

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced on Sunday the withdrawal of all its fighters from Turkish territory to northern Iraq, declaring the start of the second phase of the peace process with Ankara.

The move aims to ease border tensions and prevent renewed clashes, months after the group announced its disarmament and the end of its decades-long armed campaign.

In a statement, the PKK said: “We’ve begun the process of withdrawing our forces from Türkiye in anticipation of possible clashes and to eliminate the grounds for undesirable incidents”.

The statement urged Turkish authorities to take immediate legal measures to preserve peace and facilitate the next phase of reconciliation.

According to the PKK, the decision follows the resolutions adopted at its 12th Congress last May, which included the dissolution of its organizational structure and the formal abandonment of armed struggle under the leadership of Abdullah Öcalan.

During the congress, members also launched the “Peace and Democratic Society” initiative and held a symbolic weapons-burning ceremony as a pledge to end hostilities.

The statement emphasized that the current steps seek to build peace and democracy in Türkiye, with particular focus on empowering women and youth and fostering a free future based on equality and fraternity.

The group reaffirmed its full adherence to Öcalan’s directives and commitment to ensuring unhindered participation in democratic political life.

The PKK further called for the adoption of a general amnesty law and swift passage of legislation guaranteeing freedoms and democratic inclusion.

Such measures, it said, are essential to secure safe participation in the political process and achieve lasting social and political stability.

Turkish officials welcomed the development as a significant milestone in the decades-long conflict.

“Today’s announcement represents a tangible result of the progress achieved in recent peace efforts,” said Ömer Çelik, spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

“The withdrawal of PKK elements from Türkiye and the steps toward disarmament mark concrete progress toward ending a conflict that has persisted for more than forty years”.

The PKK, founded by Abdullah Öcalan in the late 1970s, initially pursued an armed struggle for Kurdish independence.

The insurgency escalated through the 1980s and 1990s, marked by violent clashes inside Türkiye and cross-border military operations into Iraq and Syria.

Following Öcalan’s capture in 1999, the group declared a ceasefire, leading to intermittent peace efforts and political dialogue in the 2000s and 2010s.

However, those efforts were often interrupted by renewed violence.

In February 2025, from his prison cell, Öcalan issued a historic appeal urging all sides to embrace a new phase of peace, end the armed conflict, and permanently lay down weapons — a message now taking shape through the PKK’s latest withdrawal announcement.