site.btaPKK Must Unconditionally Lay Down Arms, Turkish Defence Ministry Says

Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters must "unconditionally" lay down their arms, Turkiye's national defence ministry said on Thursday, as quoted by the Haberler news website.

It was the first comment from defence ministry sources since PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's recent call for the group to disarm.

"No attempt should be made to cause confusion by raising issues such as declaring a "ceasefire" - something not included in the text. As also stated in the appeal, the PKK and all its affiliated groups must cease their terrorist activities, disband themselves and immediately and unconditionally surrender their weapons," the defence ministry said.

The statement added that "the organization has realized, albeit belatedly, that it can achieve nothing with terrorism and that it has no choice but to disband."

On February 27, rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan's "historic call" for the PKK and its affiliated groups to be disbanded was read out. The statement was read by a delegation of the pro-Kurdish DEM party, which visited the then rebel leader in prison in Istanbul, where he is serving a life sentence.

The PKK, designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkiye, the US and the European Union, has been waging an armed struggle since 1984 with the aim of creating its own state for the Kurds, who make up around 20% of Turkiye's population of 85 million. However, the group has recently called for more autonomy, cultural and linguistic, rather than independence, notes Agence France-Presse.