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Ocalan Urges PKK Fighters to Lay Down Arms Ahead of Sulaymaniyah Ceremony

His seven-minute broadcast precedes a planned event where militants will destroy their weapons under official supervision.

A demonstrator holds a picture of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan during a rally in Diyarbakir, Turkey, February 27, 2025. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar/File photo
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Overview

  • Ocalan delivered a seven-minute video message calling on remaining PKK fighters to disarm and embrace political engagement over armed struggle.
  • Twenty to thirty militants are scheduled to descend from the mountains in Sulaymaniyah this week to symbolically destroy their weapons before invited observers.
  • The ceremony marks the first practical step following the PKK’s formal decision in May to disband and renounce armed conflict.
  • Turkish forces continue airstrikes and maintain bases in northern Iraq as part of security operations against any residual PKK elements.
  • Pro-Kurdish lawmakers and Turkish government representatives will oversee the weapons destruction to ensure transparency in the emerging peace phase.