PKK fighters start public disarmament in Iraq

(MENAFN) At the base of a mountain in northern Iraq, thirty members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) — half of them women — threw their rifles into a fire near a cave close to the town of Dukan, approximately 60 kilometers from Sulaymaniyah. Representatives from Kurdish, Iraqi, and Turkish authorities stood nearby, witnessing the act. A PKK commander read a statement first in Turkish, then another repeated it in Kurdish: “We are voluntarily destroying our weapons in your presence as a sign of goodwill and commitment.”

Cameras captured the symbolic moment as the flames consumed the weapons that once represented decades of violent struggle. This event marked the beginning of the PKK’s historic move to disarm, signaling the end of a 40-year armed campaign for Kurdish independence — a campaign that had long earned the group the label of a terrorist organization from Türkiye, the US, and the EU.

The shift toward peace formally began in late February when PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan issued a statement from his prison cell on İmralı Island. In it, he called on PKK supporters to abandon the armed struggle and take responsibility for beginning a peace process. On February 27, Öcalan proposed the dissolution of the PKK’s military structure, encouraging all fighters to lay down their weapons and participate in a congress to plan their integration into Turkish political life. Just days later, on March 1, the PKK officially declared an end to its armed resistance.

The ceremony near Dukan on July 11, 2025, was the first visible step in implementing this decision. However, it was only the start of a larger, coordinated process across several regions where PKK fighters operate. Disarmament efforts began simultaneously in southeastern Türkiye, the mountainous areas of northern Iraq, and parts of northeastern Syria, where PKK-linked groups are active. According to CNN Türk, about 200 fighters in Türkiye participated in the first phase, handing over mostly light arms and munitions, some of which had been supplied by Western allies during the fight against ISIS. No heavy weaponry was found during inspections.

Turkish officials estimate that roughly 2,000 PKK fighters will ultimately be involved in this demilitarization effort. Groups are laying down arms in small batches of 40 to 50 people to ensure the process remains orderly and supervised. Specific handover points have been established across Türkiye, Iraqi Kurdistan, and border regions connecting Syria’s Hasakah province with Türkiye’s Şırnak province.

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