PKK pressured by Ankara to lay down arms 'immediately'

Turkey demanded on Thursday that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) lay down arms "immediately and unconditionally," a week after a call from its leader to dissolve the movement. This appeal is addressed to all Turkish Kurdish fighters, whether in the mountains of northern Iraq or present alongside the Democratic Defense Forces in northeastern Syria.

"The PKK and all groups affiliated with it must put an end to their terrorist activities and dissolve immediately and unconditionally, and lay down their arms," insisted a source at the Ministry of Defense.

The PKK responded on Saturday to the call of its historical leader Abdullah Öcalan, detained for 26 years, to dissolve the movement and end four decades of guerrilla warfare that have claimed at least 40,000 lives. The PKK announced an immediate cease-fire, assuring that "none of our forces will carry out armed action unless attacked."

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On the same day, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Ankara would continue its military operations against the insurgents if "these promises were not kept." While the conflict has crossed Turkish borders for decades, Iraq was calling for the withdrawal of the Turkish army and PPK fighters from its territory in the event of a peace agreement.

"Threat to regional security"

"On our territory, we want neither the Turkish army nor the PKK (...) Iraq wants the withdrawal of all," said Iraq's National Security Advisor Qassem al-Aaraji to AFP, acknowledging that "Turkish forces are present because of the PKK."

Furthermore, the Turkish government has repeatedly called on the new leaders of neighboring Syria to "expel" "non-Syrian" Kurdish fighters from their territory. "It is not only a threat to our security but to the entire region," argued Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

After four months of dialogue initiated by the Turkish authorities and led by the main pro-Kurdish party DEM, Öcalan, 75, made a call for "peace and a democratic society," ordering the PKK to "lay down arms" and "dissolve."

In November 2022, Turkey launched the air operation "Claw Sword" against Kurdish positions in northern Iraq. Since 2016, it has also launched three large-scale operations in Syria and established a buffer zone along its border in the northeast of the country, where pro-Turkish factions fight against the Democratic Defense Forces.