Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for full support of the disarmament of Kurdish militants that began with a handover of the first batch of weapons by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) forces,

Fighters with a Kurdish separatist militant group that has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey have begun laying down their weapons.

Southeast Turkey, where the army has battled Kurdish militants for decades, is not yet convinced that lasting peace is at hand.

Fighters with a Kurdish separatist militant group that has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey began laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday, the first step toward a promised disarmament as part of a peace process.

The Kurdish guerrilla group held a symbolic ceremony in which a portion of their weapons was set on fire, marking the start of their disarmament process. This

Turkey must push through legal reforms to allow PKK militants to return home without fear of being jailed or killed, a top commander told AFP after the Kurdish militant group began disarming Friday.

Bahçeli also commended the DEM Party for maintaining what he described as a responsible political stance. Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, who initiated the current peace process in October, has issued a written statement welcoming the PKK’s disarmament move earlier today.

The imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party has renewed his call for fighters to disarm. Abdullah Ocalan emphasized in a video message on Wednesday the importance of abandoning armed conflict and embracing peace through politics.