The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced on Monday that it is dissolving its organization and ending its armed struggle against the Turkish state since 1984, bringing a close to a bloody conflict that has spanned more than four decades and claimed over 40,000 lives.

Founded in 1978 by Abdullah Ocalan, the Marxist-Leninist group led a militant campaign originally aimed at securing an independent Kurdish state. It later shifted its goals to pursuing greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy in southeast Turkey.

Formal end to armed struggle

"The 12th PKK Congress has decided to dissolve the PKK's organisational structure and end its method of armed struggle," the group said in a statement published by the pro-Kurdish ANF news agency.

"The PKK has completed its historic mission," it pointed out, according to ANF.

The statement indicated that the group's struggle "has broken the policy of denial and annihilation of our people and brought the Kurdish issue to a point of solving it through democratic politics."

The announcement followed an appeal from Ocalan on February 27. Speaking from Imrali prison island, where he has been held since 1999, Ocalan urged his fighters to disarm and called for a congress to formalize the decision. That congress was held last week in Iraq’s Kandil mountains, long considered a PKK stronghold.

PKK leadership declared a ceasefire and adopted "decisions of historic importance," according to ANF.

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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) welcomed the announcement. AKP spokesperson Omer Celik described it as "an important step" and emphasized that its implementation would be "meticulously monitored" by the Turkish government.

If the decision were "implemented in practice and realised in all its dimensions," it would open the door to a new era, he emphasized.

"The PKK's decision to dissolve itself and lay down its arms following the call from Imrali is an important step towards a terror-free Turkey," Celik stressed.

Renewed talks and political shifts

The declaration marks the culmination of seven months of renewed dialogue following a proposal in October 2024 by Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Erdogan’s ally.

Bahceli had shocked Ankara by suggesting Ocalan could be released if he ended the PKK’s insurgency.

Erdogan’s AKP supported the initiative, while the pro-Kurdish DEM party held talks with Ocalan in prison. The PKK responded with an immediate ceasefire and expressed willingness to convene a congress, though it requested that security conditions be met so Ocalan could personally oversee the process.

PKK’s regional presence

The PKK, listed as a "terrorist organization" by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has maintained operations in northern Iraq, where Turkey has conducted cross-border military campaigns involving drone and air strikes.

Baghdad, which designated the PKK a banned group, has accused Ankara of violating Iraqi sovereignty.

The PKK also operated in Syria until 1998, when Ocalan was forced to flee under mounting Turkish pressure. He was captured by Turkish special forces in Kenya several months later and sentenced to death by a Turkish court in 1999. Following the abolition of the death penalty in Turkey, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in October 2002.

Ocalan's capture led to a significant reduction in hostilities, with PKK fighters withdrawing from Turkey. However, after a resurgence of violence, Ankara and the PKK entered into peace negotiations in late 2012. The talks collapsed in July 2015, triggering one of the deadliest phases of the conflict and causing widespread destruction in parts of southeastern Turkey.

In Syria, Turkey continues to target the Kurdish-led People's Defense Units (YPG), which it sees as a PKK affiliate. Though the YPG is the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting the Islamic State, Ankara considers it a "national security threat."

Following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December, Turkey increased pressure for the YPG’s disbandment and threatened military action if its demands were not met.

Talks involving Turkish, US, Syrian, and Kurdish officials are ongoing to reach a long-term agreement regarding the future of Syrian Kurdish fighters.