The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced on Monday that it has withdrawn its fighters from the strategic Zap region in northern Iraq, characterizing the move as a "practical and significant contribution" to the ongoing peace process with Turkey.

In a statement released on November 17, the group said it had relocated forces previously "positioned in the Zap area and at risk of confrontation" to "appropriate alternative locations." The decision was attributed to an assessment of "risks emerging from the Turkish border" that could have led to renewed clashes.

"With this step, the risk of conflict in the region has been eliminated," the PKK's statement declared.

The group framed the redeployment as a direct response to the peace efforts led by its imprisoned founder, Abdullah Ocalan, and a reflection of its commitment to resolving the long-standing conflict through dialogue.

"We believe this new step serves a solution to the Kurdish question, peace, and democratization in Turkey," the statement added.

Monday's announcement is the latest in a series of conciliatory gestures from the PKK, which has been engaged in a decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state. The withdrawal from Zap follows the group's landmark declaration on October 26 that it had pulled all its fighters out of Turkish territory, a move it described as "historic."

These actions are part of a broader peace initiative that gained momentum earlier this year. On February 27, 2025, Ocalan issued a "Call for Peace and Democratic Society," publicly urging the PKK to lay down its arms. The group subsequently declared a ceasefire on March 1.

The process was further solidified on May 12, when the PKK announced the results of its 12th congress, signaling an end to its armed struggle under the PKK name. The group stated that Kurdish society "wisely supports the peace process" and understands the decision "to withdraw and end the armed struggle."