First group of PKK fighters to lay down arms between 10–12 July in Sulaymaniyah in sign of goodwill

SULAYMANIYAH, Kurdistan Region of Iraq — A political breakthrough in one of the region’s most protracted conflicts may be on the horizon. The Kurdistan Communities Union (Koma Civakên Kurdistanê, KCK), an umbrella organization that includes the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê, PKK), announced that the first group of PKK fighters will disarm between 10–12 July in the Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).

Speaking to the Associated Press, Zagros Hiwa, spokesperson for the KCK, said the group of fighters expected to surrender their weapons will number between 20 and 30 individuals. The process, he noted, will take place under the supervision of civil society organizations and relevant parties. Final confirmation of the number of fighters participating remains pending.

The gesture marks what may become the opening move in a broader disarmament process, though Hiwa made clear that the PKK would not commit to larger-scale demobilization without significant steps from the Turkish state — particularly the lifting of the isolation imposed on PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in solitary confinement on İmralı Island since 1999.

“This must be more than symbolic,” Hiwa said. “For true disarmament to take root, there must be legal and constitutional guarantees that allow former fighters to participate in Turkey’s democratic political process.”

A senior official from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to the AP that an agreement has been reached to conduct a symbolic destruction of a number of light weapons, a move designed to reassure Turkish authorities. The official said that the disarmament would take place in the presence of representatives from the KRG.

This development comes amid renewed international and regional pressure to deescalate hostilities and stabilize northern Iraq, which has been the site of frequent Turkish airstrikes and PKK activity.

Though modest in scale, the disarmament announcement has been met with cautious optimism among observers. It may be the most concrete gesture toward peace since previous talks between Ankara and the PKK collapsed in 2015, reigniting a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives over four decades.