PKK Withdraws to Iraq; Turkey Opens Talks

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced it has completed disarming and withdrawn all fighters from Turkey to northern Iraq, relocating units to Qandil/Medya defense areas. The move follows a May decision to renounce armed struggle after jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan urged an end to violence and was preceded by a symbolic weapons-burning. The PKK called on Ankara for immediate legal and political guarantees, including leniency for members. Turkish officials have cautiously welcomed the pullback, set up parliamentary and interparty committees and talks, and there have been visits to Öcalan and meetings involving the Kurdish DEM party and nationalist figures to help broker the process. Footage and reports indicate PKK forces abandoned checkpoints and border positions, but Ankara and international observers warn the deal’s durability depends on concrete reforms and implementation; if sustained, the withdrawal could mark an end to a 40-year insurgency that cost tens of thousands of lives.