(Reuters) – The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) held a congress this week and made “historic” decisions after a call by its leader to dissolve, a news agency linked to the group said on Friday – a potentially key step in resolving a long conflict with Turkey.
The Firat news agency reported what it called a statement by the PKK after its May 5-7 gathering in northern Iraq, where the insurgent group is now based after a more than 40-year conflict with the Turkish state.
In it, the PKK did not say whether it had decided to disband or disarm.
“The PKK 12th Congress made decisions of historic importance regarding PKK activities based on the call of Leader Apo,” the PKK was cited by Firat as saying, referring to PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan who has been imprisoned for 26 years.
More detailed information would be shared with the public “very soon,” it said.
Ocalan, who has been serving a life sentence since 1999, issued a statement through his lawyers on Feb. 27 calling for a revival of peace efforts.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the PKK conflict, which has seen intermittent peace efforts over the years, most notably a ceasefire between 2013 and 2015 that ultimately collapsed.
(Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Mark Heinrich)
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