A ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday saw a handful of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants lay down their weapons, a small but hugely symbolic gesture that marks the beginning of an end to a conflict with the Turkish state that’s lasted nearly five decades and cost tens of thousands of lives.

Fighters with a Kurdish separatist militant group that has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey have begun laying down their weapons.

Fighters with a Kurdish separatist militant group that has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey began laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday, the first step toward a promised disarmament as part of a peace process.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced a significant development in Turkey's fight against terrorism, as PKK militants begin handing over their weapons. This move marks a new chapter in Turkey's history and signals the opening doors of a powerful future,

Abdullah Ocalan, jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, appeared in a rare online video on Wednesday to declare the group's armed struggle against Turkey over and call for a full transition to democratic politics.

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Turkey must push through legal reforms to allow PKK militants to return home without fear of being jailed or killed, a top commander told AFP after the Kurdish militant group began disarming Friday.

Bahçeli also commended the DEM Party for maintaining what he described as a responsible political stance. Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, who initiated the current peace process in October, has issued a written statement welcoming the PKK’s disarmament move earlier today.