Kurdish militant group PKK to disband and disarm after 40-year insurgency

Young people hold a photograph of the jailed leader of the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, Abdullah Ocalan (Metin Yoksu/AP)

A Kurdish militant group has announced a historic decision to disband and disarm as part of a new peace initiative with Turkey, after four decades of armed conflict.

The decision by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as the PKK, was announced by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group.