Kurdish PKK concludes handover, burning of weapons in northern Iraq
A group of fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Friday concluded a formal weapons handover ceremony in northern Iraq by burning their surrendered weapons, symbolically ending decades of conflict with the Turkish state.
The act, carried out deep inside Jasana Cave in Sulaimaniyah Province, marks one of the most significant milestones to date in the Kurdish-Turkish peace process.
Thirty PKK fighters laid down their arms — including light weapons and medium machine guns — and torched them in a show of their irreversible commitment to non-violence.
Chanting slogans in support of their longtime leader Abdullah Öcalan, the fighters said the move was a “goodwill gesture” in response to Öcalan’s repeated calls for peace and political engagement.
A video was released showing the disarmament ceremony.
According to Besê Hozat, a PKK executive and spokeswoman who supervised the ceremony, the entire event lasted about 20 minutes.
The ceremony was attended by official delegations from the Kurdistan Region, representatives of Kurdish political parties from both Iraq and Turkey, as well as a number of political and social figures.
In a speech, Hozat said that the PKK expects Turkey “to respond to this initiative and take concrete steps to accelerate the peace process, restore security and recognize democratic rights.”
She called for the “immediate release of [PKK] leader Öcalan.”
Following Hozat’s remarks, the PKK fighters placed their light and medium weapons into a specially prepared metal pit, and Hozat and another PKK commander set fire to the weapons, symbolizing what Hozat termed “the beginning of a new phase.”
Hozat noted, “Our people deserve to live in peace, in normal and dignified conditions.”
Turkish media confirmed the start of the arms decommissioning process, which took place with very limited media access in a remote area near Dokan, around 60 kilometres north-west of Sulaimaniyah.
The group involved in the disarmament, known as the Peace and Democratic Society Group, issued a detailed press statement following the ceremony.
They affirmed their transition from armed struggle to democratic political activity, declaring: “We combine our good intentions and sincere will by destroying our weapons here today [Friday] at this historic moment before you.”
“From now on, we will continue the struggle for freedom, democracy, and socialism using democratic and legal political methods,” they said.
The decision to disarm, the group said, was rooted in Öcalan’s latest video message dated June 19, 2025, as well as earlier statements and the resolutions of the PKK’s 12th Congress in May, during which the group announced its organizational dissolution.
Öcalan, imprisoned in Turkey since 1999, had urged the PKK to shift from armed confrontation to political struggle in order to achieve Kurdish rights through peaceful means.
Calling for Öcalan’s release, the group appealed to the Turkish government to take the initiative and begin genuine political dialogue to resolve the Kurdish question.
“We trust in our collective strength and our ability to achieve new democratic gains,” the fighters said.
They also called on international and regional powers to support the peace process and to recognize the legitimate national and democratic rights of the Kurdish people.
Turkish officials responded positively.
A senior Turkish official told dpa the laying down of arms by PKK militants in Sulaimaniyah marks “a milestone of the third stage of the ongoing disarmament and decommissioning process and marks a concrete and welcome step towards ending the group’s decades-long campaign of violence.”
“We view this development as an irreversible turning point, an opportunity to protect innocent lives and build a future free from terror,” the official said.
The Turkish government has reiterated its commitment to the broader five-phase peace initiative, which includes political inclusion, legal reintegration, and socio-psychological healing for affected communities.
While symbolic for now — given the PKK is believed to still have thousands of fighters — Friday’s disarmament event represents a potentially historic turning point.
Additional weapons collection points are expected to be established, and authorities in Turkey, Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Government in Erbil plan to monitor further disarmament phases.