-
500 tourists evacuated from Grand Canyon wildfires
-
Italy join Spain in Women's Euro 2025 quarter-finals
-
Chelsea's Fernandez warns of 'dangerous' heat at Club World Cup
-
Maresca optimistic for Chelsea against 'best in world' PSG
-
Trump voices shock at devastating scale of Texas flood damage
-
Sinner unfazed by French Open collapse as he prepares for Alcaraz rematch
-
Lyles scorches to comeback win, Alfred conquers 100m
-
'Superman' aims to save flagging film franchise, not just humanity
-
Forest winger Elanga signs for Newcastle
-
Liverpool to retire Diogo Jota's number 20 shirt
-
'Still in the game': Lyles outstrips Tebogo in season-opening 200m
-
Bumrah proud of 'really special' five-wicket haul at Lord's
-
Son of Mexico's 'El Chapo' pleads guilty in US drugs case: report
-
Mob lynches five alleged thieves in quake-hit Guatemalan town
-
South Korea's Lee carves out narrow halfway lead at Evian
-
Paris glory means nothing to Alcaraz ahead of Sinner rematch in Wimbledon final
-
Lightweight boxing champion Davis arrested: reports
-
US appeals court scraps 9/11 mastermind's plea deal
-
Djokovic admits age catching up with him after Wimbledon defeat
-
Alcaraz, Sinner will resume rivalry in Wimbledon final
-
Part of Grand Canyon evacuated as wildfire spreads
-
Venus Williams, 45, accepts wildcard for WTA DC Open
-
Trump in Texas to survey flood damage as scrutiny of response mounts
-
Sinner mauls Djokovic to reach first Wimbledon final
-
Australia's Aboriginals win bid for UNESCO listing of ancient site
-
Archer strikes on Test return before India's Gill falls cheaply
-
Latest Grok chatbot turns to Musk for some answers
-
Moscow sizzles in record-breaking heatwave
-
PKK militants want to enter Turkish politics: top commander
-
MSF warns acute malnutrition soaring in Gaza
-
France probes X over claims algorithm enabled 'foreign interference'
-
Wimbledon withdrawal 'most painful moment' for Dimitrov
-
Three Cambodia genocide sites added to UNESCO register
-
Alcaraz reaches third successive Wimbledon final, Djokovic faces Sinner
-
Wildfire forces evacuation of part of Grand Canyon
-
Crystal Palace demoted to UEFA Conference League for multi-club breach
-
Trump's tariff threats and delays: state of play
-
Alcaraz subdues Fritz to reach third successive Wimbledon final
-
She's Electric: Manchester wired as 'Oasis Day' dawns
-
Pogacar pounces to retake Tour de France lead
-
Pogacar pounces to retakes Tour de France lead
-
Archer strikes with third ball on Test return against India
-
Trump flies to flood-ravaged Texas as scrutiny of response mounts
-
IEA sees anaemic global oil demand growth amid tariff turmoil
-
India's Chopra wants coach Zelezny's big-stage mindset
-
Five-star Bumrah strikes for India as England post 387
-
Minister's death spooks Russian elite amid corruption clampdown
-
UNESCO adds Cameroon, Malawi sites to heritage list
-
Irvine Welsh takes aim at 'brain atrophying' tech ahead of new Trainspotting sequel
-
Bumrah's treble strike rocks England before Smith hits back
Kurdish PKK fighters destroy weapons at disarmament ceremony
Thirty PKK fighters destroyed their weapons at a symbolic ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday, two months after the Kurdish rebels ended their decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state.
The ceremony marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics, as part of a broader effort to bring an end to one of the region's longest-running conflicts.
Analysts say that with the PKK weakened and the Kurdish public exhausted by decades of violence, Turkey's peace offer handed its jailed founder Abdullah Ocalan a chance to make the long-desired switch away from armed struggle.
The PKK's disarmament also grants President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the distinction of being the Turkish leader who managed to draw a line under a bloody conflict that cost more than 40,000 lives and wrought havoc in Turkey and beyond.
Outside the ancient cave of Casene, a group of 30 PKK fighters, men and women, gathered on a stage in khaki fatigues, their faces uncovered, in front of an audience of around 300 people, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.
One by one, they walked down to lay their weapons in a cauldron in which a fire was lit. Most were rifles but there was one machine gun and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
As they looked on, people in the crowd started cheering while others could be heard weeping.
After the ceremony, the fighters returned to the mountains, a PKK commander said.
- 'Ocalan's freedom essential' -
Speaking to AFP after the ceremony, the PKK's top female commander Bese Hozat said that for the process to succeed, it was essential to release Ocalan -- known to his followers as 'Apo' -- who has been serving life in solitary confinement since 1999.
"Ensuring Leader Apo's physical freedom via legal guarantees, is essential... he should be able to freely lead and manage this process. This is our primary condition and demand," she said.
"Without this development, it is highly unlikely that the process will continue successfully."
Erdogan hailed the ceremony as an "important step" on the path to a "terror-free Turkey", expressing hope it would lead to "the establishment of lasting peace in our region".
And a senior Turkish official source described it as a "concrete and welcome step".
"We view this development as an irreversible turning point," he said, adding that the move to decommission weapons was part of a broader five-stage process.
The following steps would involve the legal reintegration of former fighters into society, the establishment of mechanisms for their lawful return and for justice, ensuring accountability and stability.
PKK militants have insisted on the need for legal reform in Turkey to allow them to return home freely and engage in democratic politics, the commander told AFP.
"If Turkey.. enacts laws and implements radical legal reforms.. we will go to Turkey and engage in politics," she said.
"If there is no legal constitutional arrangements, we will either end up in prison or being killed."
The ceremony followed months of indirect negotiations between Ocalan and Ankara that began in October with Erdogan's blessing, and were facilitated by Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party.
The PKK took up arms in 1984, beginning a string of bloody attacks on Turkish soil that sparked a conflict that cost more than 40,000 lives.
But more than four decades on, the PKK in May announced its dissolution, saying it would pursue a democratic struggle to defend the rights of the Kurdish minority in line with a historic call by Ocalan.
- 'Power of politics' -
Throughout the morning, scores of cars could be seen pulling up to Casene cave, a symbolic location that once housed a Kurdish printing press, Firat news agency said.
Representatives of top officials in Iraqi Kurdistan were at the ceremony alongside Turkish intelligence officials, DEM lawmakers and journalists.
Earlier this week Ocalan said the disarmament process would be "implemented swiftly".
In recent months, the PKK has taken several historic steps, starting with a ceasefire and culminating in its formal dissolution announced on May 12.
The shift followed a historic appeal at the end of February by Ocalan, 76, who has spent the past 26 years behind bars.
T.Suter--VB