Kurdish militant group PKK declares truce with Turkey after 40 years of conflict

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish militant group, on Saturday declared a cease-fire with Turkey, following a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan, to disarm and dissolve.

The announcement comes after four decades of armed conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives.  

The PKK’s statement said the cease-fire was aimed to “pave the way for the implementation of leader Apo’s call for peace and democratic society,” referring to Öcalan by his widely used nickname​.

The group added that “none of our forces will take armed action unless attacked,” but it stopped short of declaring its disbandment, stating that such a decision could only be taken under his direct guidance and within a broader political process.

Öcalan’s call comes amid political signals from Turkey’s ruling coalition suggesting the PKK leader, imprisoned on an island off Istanbul since 1999, could be granted parole if the group disbanded. In his message, Öcalan argued that armed struggle was no longer a viable solution and urged Kurdish political movements to seek democratic participation​.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed the development, calling Öcalan’s appeal a “historic opportunity” for ending the conflict. His government signaled it would closely monitor the situation to ensure a full PKK dissolution but has also demanded that affiliated groups in Iraq and Syria follow suit.

Spanish socialist lawmaker Nacho Sánchez Amor, the European Parliament’s lead member on Turkey relations, described Öcalan’s call as a “historic step” and urged both sides to seize the moment for an inclusive political resolution.

The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the U.S., has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, initially seeking an independent Kurdish state before later shifting its demands toward greater autonomy and rights for Kurds. Past ceasefire attempts — most notably a 2013-2015 peace process — collapsed amid renewed violence​.