ALBAWABA - Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced in a statement on Sunday that it was withdrawing all its forces from Turkey, AFP reported.
PKK further mentioned that its fighters will be moved to northern Iraq instead of Turkey.
In a historic move, the PKK group said that "they have withdrawn all guerrilla forces in Turkey to the Medya Defense Areas to advance the Peace and Democratic Society Process to its second phase," the PKK-affiliated Firat news agency reported.
“These historic steps taken by the Kurdish side, under the leadership of Leader Abdullah Ocalan and the PKK, have profoundly impacted the political and social landscape of Turkey, revealing a new spirit and will toward peace and democratization,” the statement also read.
Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) descend stairs ahead of a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on July 11, 2025. Photo by SHWAN MOHAMMED / AFP
In May, the Kurdish militia took the decision to disband and disarm in a decision that was marked as a historic one, considering that the PKK group has been in a bloody conflict with the Turkish government for more than 40 years.
"The PKK 12th Congress decided to dissolve the PKK'S organizational structure, with the practical process to be managed and carried out by Leader Apo, and to end the armed struggle method," according to a statement that used PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan's nickname.
