DNYUZ
  • Home
  • News
    • U.S.
    • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Culture
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Television
    • Theater
    • Gaming
    • Sports
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Autos
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
No Result
View All Result
DNYUZ
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Kurdish Fighters Burn Weapons in Step Toward Peace With Turkey

July 11, 2025
in News
Kurdish Fighters Burn Weapons in Step Toward Peace With Turkey
495
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Dozens of Kurdish fighters from Turkey publicly burned their weapons on Friday during a ceremony aimed at demonstrating that their insurgent group was giving up its decades-long struggle against Turkey.

The ceremony took place in the rugged mountains of northeastern Iraq, where many fighters from the insurgent group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K., are based. It was the first concrete sign of disarmament in a peace process started this year to end a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people over four decades.

Images released by journalists at the ceremony showed dozens of P.K.K. guerrillas, men and women, arriving at the site in military uniforms, carrying rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. They stood onstage in front of a large image of Abdullah Ocalan, the group’s imprisoned leader, who declared an end to the group’s armed struggle in a rare video released on Wednesday.

Other images showed the fighters placing their weapons and ammunition belts into a large metal container where a bonfire was lit to destroy the arms.

The fighters who participated in the ceremony said in a statement released by a P.K.K.-affiliated news outlet that they were destroying their weapons “of their own free will” to show their willingness to “carry out our struggle for freedom, democracy and socialism from now on through democratic politics and law.”

A statement provided by Turkey’s government communications office said that the ceremony “marks a concrete and welcome step toward ending the group’s decades-long campaign of violence.”

The P.K.K. began its insurgency against Turkey in the 1980s, aiming to establish an independent Kurdish state. Over the years, P.K.K. attacks on Turkish security forces and Turkish military operations against the insurgents killed tens of thousands of people, including many civilians.

Turkey, the United States and the European Union consider the P.K.K. a terrorist organization.

If the peace process succeeds and the P.K.K. disarms, it would be a major win for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who could claim credit for finally getting rid of the country’s most severe domestic security threat.

Speaking to reporters last week, Mr. Erdogan hailed the peace process.

“The P.K.K. terror group’s laying down of arms will be the start of a new period for Turkey, with security, democracy and development,” he said.

Iraqi and Turkish officials were on site to watch Friday’s ceremony, including a delegation from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish political party, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party.

Ben Hubbard is the Istanbul bureau chief, covering Turkey and the surrounding region.

Şafak Timur covers Turkey and is based in Istanbul.

The post Kurdish Fighters Burn Weapons in Step Toward Peace With Turkey appeared first on New York Times.

Share198Tweet124Share
A Top Fed Official Favors More Interest Rate Cuts
News

Hiring Slowdown Worries Top Fed Official, an Ally of Powell

by New York Times
October 9, 2025

John C. Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, says he supports further interest rates cuts this ...

Read more
News

Gaza residents flood streets in hope that Israel’s war is ending

October 9, 2025
Crime

Baltimore sees staggering crime drop as Democratic prosecutor holds repeat offenders accountable

October 9, 2025
News

La Nina is back, but it’s weak and may be brief. Will it still amp up the Atlantic hurricane season?

October 9, 2025
Business

Ferrari reveals features of first fully electric vehicle, raises 2026 forecasts

October 9, 2025
He’s Gay. He’s an Observant Jew. His Comedy Career Is Booming.

He’s Gay. He’s an Observant Jew. His Comedy Career Is Booming.

October 9, 2025
Billionaire Tom Steyer drops $12 million to support November redistricting ballot measure

Billionaire Tom Steyer drops $12 million to support November redistricting ballot measure

October 9, 2025
Hartselle High School Senior Hudson Bone named News 19’s Student of the Week

Hartselle High School Senior Hudson Bone named News 19’s Student of the Week

October 9, 2025

Copyright © 2025.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • U.S.
    • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Culture
    • Gaming
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Sports
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Autos
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel

Copyright © 2025.