The jailed leader of Turkey's main Kurdish rebel group has urged followers to end a 30-year armed struggle.

In a statement read out on TV by a Kurdish MP, Abdullah Ocalan said he was seeking a "historical decision" to reach "a democratic solution".

He called for a special congress in the spring intended to make a declaration ending the armed conflict.

More than 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, have died in fighting for an Kurdish homeland in Turkey's south-east.

Mr Ocalan leads the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, but has been in prison since 1999 serving a life sentence for treason.

Announcing his latest view, Kurdish politician Sirri Sureyya Onder read a message on Turkish TV.

"We are in the process of bringing an end to the 30-year of conflict, in the form of a perpetual peace, and our main goal is to reach a democratic solution," Ocalan's message said.

BBC