Kurdish rebels say withdrawing fighters from Turkey to Iraq as part of peace effort

By AP 26 October 2025, 9:54 am

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A fighter with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) puts his weapon into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on July 11, 2025. (Shwan MOHAMMED / AFP)

A militant Kurdish group announces that it is withdrawing its fighters from Turkey to Iraq as part of a peace effort with Turkey.

The statement issued in northern Iraq by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, comes months after a group of its fighters began laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony, as part of the peace process.

The group has been waging a decades-long insurgency in Turkey that has led to tens of thousands of deaths since the 1980s.

“To prevent any risk of clashes or provocations, we are currently withdrawing all our forces within Turkey to the Medya Defense Area with Abdullah Ocalan’s approval,” read the statement from KCK executive board member Sabri Ok, referring to the group’s imprisoned leader.