Sulaymaniyah: The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) began its weapons surrender ceremony this afternoon in the Jasna Cave in Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq. The weapons surrender process will take place in stages, with a group of between 20 and 30 militants and four of their leaders initially laying down their weapons “symbolically.” The disarmament process is expected to be fully completed within a few months, with completion expected by next September.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the process is being overseen by a committee comprising representatives from the Turkish intelligence and military, in coordination with the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Members of the party’s executive and central committees and pro-Kurdish Turkish parties are also participating in the ceremony.

Abdullah Ocalan, the historic leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), imprisoned in Turkey since 1999, announced the end of the party’s four-decade armed struggle against the Turkish state and call
ed for a complete shift toward democratic politics and the rule of law. The PKK had announced its dissolution and disarmament on May 12, ending more than four decades of insurgency against the Turkish state that left at least 45,000 dead.