Briefly

TURKIYE

Kurdish group PKK will disarm and disband

The Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which has been locked in conflict with the Turkish state for more than 40 years, decided to disband and end its armed struggle, group members and Turkish leaders said on Monday. "The PKK 12th Congress decided to dissolve the PKK's organizational structure ... and end the armed struggle," Firat News Agency reported it as saying in the closing declaration of a congress held last week in northern Iraq, where the group is based. A PKK official separately confirmed the decision and said all military operations would cease "immediately", adding that weapon handovers were contingent on Ankara's response and approach to Kurdish rights, and the fate of PKK fighters and leaders. The PKK held the congress in response to a February call to disband from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hailed the PKK decision to disarm and disband, saying it was a "historic" milestone for regional peace and stability.