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Fighters from PKK start symbolic disarmament in Iraq’s northern Kurdish area, ending decades-long battle with Turkiye.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has begun the primary steps in the direction of disarmament, closing a chapter on a four-decade armed marketing campaign in opposition to the Turkish state in a battle that has killed greater than 40,000 folks.
A small ceremony was being held on Friday in Iraq’s northern Kurdish area, the place 20 to 30 PKK fighters had been anticipated to destroy their weapons slightly than give up them to any authorities or authority. The symbolic course of is being carried out underneath tight safety and is predicted to unfold all through the summer season.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed the event, declaring it as “completely ripping off and throwing away the bloody shackles that had been placed on our nation’s legs”. Erdogan additionally stated the transfer would profit the complete area.
The transfer follows an announcement in May by the PKK that it might abandon its armed wrestle.
For many of its historical past, the PKK has been labelled a “terrorist” group by Turkiye, the European Union and the USA.
Greater than 40,000 folks had been killed between 1984 and 2024, with hundreds of Kurds fleeing the violence in southeastern Turkiye into cities additional north.
In a video aired earlier this week however recorded in June by the PKK-linked Firat Information Company, the group’s imprisoned chief Abdullah Ocalan described the second as “a voluntary transition from the section of armed battle to the section of democratic politics and regulation”, calling it a “historic achieve”.
Ocalan has been held in solitary confinement on Imrali Island in Turkiye since his seize in 1999. Regardless of his imprisonment, he stays a symbolic determine for the group and broader PKK offshoots throughout the area.
The disarmament is being carefully monitored by members of Turkiye’s Kurdish DEM occasion, in addition to Turkish media. Additional phases will happen at designated areas involving coordination between Turkiye, Iraq and the Kurdish regional authorities in northern Iraq.
The affect of the battle has been deeply felt not solely in Turkiye however throughout neighbouring international locations, significantly Iraq, Syria and Iran, the place the PKK and its associates have maintained a presence.
‘If the PKK leaves there gained’t be any shelling’
In northern Iraq, the place the preventing has typically spilled over, civilians are cautiously hopeful.
Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed visited communities within the mountainous district of Amedi, close to the Turkish border, the place villages have been caught within the crossfire.
“Right here in northern Iraq, the PKK controls tons of of villages unfold throughout the semi-autonomous Kurdish area,” stated Abdelwahed. “Some have been became battlefields, severely limiting entry to farmland and making life much more troublesome for displaced households who’re determined to return house.”
Shirwan Sirkli, an area farmer, informed Al Jazeera that the battle destroyed his household’s livelihood. “My farm was burned down by shelling as Turkish forces and the PKK introduced their battle to our lands. My brother additionally misplaced his $300,000 price of sheep ranches. A lot of our neighbours have left the village – solely 35 out of a few hundred households stay.”
Turkish navy operations within the space have intensified in recent times, with Ankara establishing outposts throughout the border and steadily focusing on PKK positions.
“The presence of PKK fighters within the space has solely introduced catastrophe to us,” stated Ahmad Saadullah, a area people chief talking to Al Jazeera. “In the event that they depart, there gained’t be any shelling. We wish to see the peace deal carried out on the bottom so we are able to reclaim our land and dwell in peace.”
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