Erbil, Kurdistan Region – Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Friday started laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony near Sulaymaniyah, marking a potential end to their four-decade-long armed insurgency against Turkey.

An AFP correspondent reported that 30 PKK members, including four commanders, destroyed their weapons in a gesture of goodwill. The move follows a May announcement by the group that it would disband and abandon armed conflict after imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan urged them to pursue peace.

In a statement, the PKK said the disarmament was a voluntary step to support a "peace and democratic society" process. "We wish that this step will bring about peace and freedom," the group said.

Öcalan, jailed since 1999 near Istanbul, reiterated his call for disarmament this week, stating, "I believe in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons. And I urge you to put this principle into practice." He also pressed Turkey’s parliament to establish a commission to oversee the peace process.

The PKK, founded in 1978, initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted to demanding autonomy within Turkey. Decades of clashes with Turkish forces, along with attacks on civilians, led Turkey, the U.S., and the EU to designate the group as a terrorist organization.

Meanwhile, Ankara has faced accusations of forcibly displacing Kurdish civilians and destroying villages in counterinsurgency operations. The conflict has claimed around 40,000 lives since 1984.

Kurds, an ethnic group of over 30 million people divided across Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran, have long sought greater rights. Observers now urge President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government to address Kurdish political demands as the PKK transitions away from armed struggle.