Kurdish PKK militants burn weapons in landmark step to end decades-long Turkey conflict

A ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday saw a handful of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants lay down their weapons, a small but hugely symbolic gesture that marks the beginning of an end to a conflict with the Turkish state that’s lasted nearly five decades and cost tens of thousands of lives.

A ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday saw a handful of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants lay down their weapons, a small but hugely symbolic gesture that marks the beginning of an end to a conflict with the Turkish state that’s lasted nearly five decades and cost tens of thousands of lives. Politicians and observers gathered for the ceremony held in the ancient cave of Casene near the town of Sulaymaniyah, where about 30 men and women from the militant group placed their weapons in a large cauldron that was later set on fire. The PKK fighters announced in a statement their intent to continue the “struggle for freedom” through “democratic politics and legal means.” “We hereby, of our own free will, and in your presence, destroy our weapons,” the statement said. Turkish news channels breathlessly reported on the ceremony although, aside from a small group of invited observers, journalists were not allowed into the area. Turkish channels showed helicopters flying over the cave where the ceremony was expected to take place. Convoys of white pick-up trucks and black vans were seen driving to the area. A senior Turkish official said Friday’s move was an “irreversible turning point” and described it as a “milestone.”