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The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a militant group that has been in conflict with the Turkish state for over four decades, has decided to disband and end its armed struggle, Reuters reported citing a news agency close to the group.
The PKK’s decision is expected to have wide-ranging political and security implications for the region, including neighboring Iraq and Syria, where Kurdish forces are allied with the U.S.
Since 1984, when the PKK began its armed insurgency, more than 40,000 people have been killed. Turkey and its Western allies classify the group as a terrorist organization.
“The PKK has fulfilled its historical mission,” the group said in a statement published by the Firat news agency, describing what it claimed was the final declaration of a congress held last week in northern Iraq.
The congress was convened in response to a call made in February by imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan for the group to disband.
“The PKK’s 12th Congress decided to dissolve its organizational structure, with the practical process to be led and implemented by Leader Apo (Ocalan’s nickname), and to end the armed struggle,” the statement said.
“The PKK’s struggle has broken the policy of denial and destruction of our people and has brought the Kurdish issue to a point where it can be resolved through democratic politics,” it added.
The PKK’s decision could give President Tayyip Erdogan a chance to accelerate development in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast, where the insurgency has long stifled economic growth.
Omer Celik, spokesman for the ruling AK Party, said the disbandment was “an important step toward a terror-free Turkey.”
Turkey’s foreign ministry did not immediately comment, though Ankara had anticipated the announcement.
The Turkish lira remained steady at 38.7375 per dollar, while the main stock index rose 2.4%.
Peace efforts over the years have been sporadic, with the most notable ceasefire occurring between 2013 and 2015 before collapsing.