Kurdistan Workers' Party poised to announce end of armed struggle against Türkiye on May 9

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is likely to announce on May 9 its decision to end its armed struggle against Türkiye and disband. 

This decision follows a February statement by the PKK’s imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan, in which he urged the group, which he founded over 40 years ago, to lay down its weapons, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

On May 9, the PKK announced that it had held a congress from May 5 to 7, during which Öcalan’s call was discussed. The group stated that it had made “historically significant decisions,” adding, “which we will announce very soon with relevant documents and information.” In his February statement, Öcalan described the armed struggle as a relic of the past. 

He explained in a message just one-and-a-half pages long that the PKK's armed resistance had been necessary in the past due to Turkish state policies that denied Kurdish identity and restricted their rights and freedoms. "The PKK was born in the 20th century, in the most violent epoch of human history - amidst the two world wars, under the shadow of real socialism and the Cold War," Öcalan wrote. However, he argued that recent democratic reforms by the Turkish government on Kurdish issues, coupled with regional developments, had made armed struggle unnecessary. "All groups must lay down their arms, and the PKK must dissolve itself," he said. 

Öcalan’s mention of “all groups” is understood to include the PKK’s affiliates and branches in Syria and Iran, as well as its umbrella organization, the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), which operates in those countries, as well as in Iraq and Türkiye. In March, the PKK publicly declared it would follow Öcalan’s directive and announced a ceasefire. As part of ongoing negotiations between Öcalan and the Turkish government, a separate agreement was reached in March between Mazlum Abdi Şahin, the commander of the PKK-linked Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The deal gives Damascus full control over state institutions in northeastern Syria, effectively ending the possibility of a Kurdish state or federal system in the country. 

Many analysts see Öcalan’s call as a direct result of Türkiye’s military success in isolating the PKK in the Qandil mountains in Iraq. Since 2016, Turkish forces have used advanced drone technology and electronic warfare capabilities to cut off the PKK’s territorial control and infiltration routes. It remains uncertain how the PKK will surrender its weapons. Some sources in Ankara suggest that the Iraqi government could play a role in collecting and registering the weapons, working in cooperation with neighboring countries. 

Foreign fighters in Syria are expected to return to their home countries, and those opting for politics will be integrated into their national political systems. Senior KCK leaders are reportedly set to be relocated to third countries. Some believe PKK leaders may be resettled in Sulaymaniyah, a region in Iraq controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a political party with historical ties to the armed group.

By Naila Huseynova