Kurdish PKK militants declare immediate ceasefire

(Reuters) -The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group declared an immediate ceasefire on Saturday, a news agency close to it said, heeding jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan's disarmament call, in a major step toward ending a 40-year insurgency.

Ocalan on Thursday called on the PKK to lay down its arms and dissolve, a move that President Tayyip Erdogan's government and the opposition pro-Kurdish DEM party voiced support for.

The ceasefire could have wide-ranging implications for the region if it succeeds in ending a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people since the PKK - now based in the mountains of northern Iraq - launched its armed insurgency in 1984.

It could also give Erdogan a domestic boost and an historic opportunity to bring peace and development to southeast Turkey, where the conflict has killed thousands and severely damaged the economy.

The group said it hoped Ankara would give Ocalan, held in near total isolation since 1999, more freedoms so he can lead a disarmament process, adding that the necessary political and democratic conditions must be established for it to succeed.

"We, as the PKK, fully agree with the content of the call and state that, from our front, we will heed the necessities of the call and implement it," the group said in a statement, according to the Firat news agency.

"Beyond this, issues like laying down arms being put into practice can only be realised under the practical leadership of Leader Apo," the group said, using its nickname for Ocalan, adding it would halt all hostilities immediately unless attacked.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies, said it was ready to convene a congress, as Ocalan urged, but the necessary security conditions should be established for him to "personally direct and run" it.

Speaking at a fast-breaking event with martyr families in Istanbul on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Saturday, Erdogan said Turkey will resume operations against the PKK if the disarmament process is stalled, and assured families that the process would not hinder counter-terrorism.

"If the promises that are made are constantly stalled, if an attempt to turn to trickery by eyewashing, changing names, and doing as you please, we can't be blamed for what happens," he said.

"If needed, we will keep up our operations - which are still continuing - leaving no stone standing and leaving no heads on shoulders, until every last terrorist is eliminated," he added, saying Ankara would also end cross-border threats.

Earlier, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said on X that the dissolution of the PKK "without any negotiation" would usher in a new era.

Previous efforts to end the insurgency, held in the years 2009-11 and 2013-15, failed and resulted in increased violence.

PKK DEMANDS ON OCALAN

The DEM party urged the government on Friday to take steps towards democratisation, telling Reuters that its response was critical.

For the process to advance, the PKK said Ocalan must be given "physical freedom, achieve living and working conditions, form relationships with anyone he wants, including friends, without obstacles".

Whether Ankara will address these issues is unclear. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told broadcaster CNN Turk on Friday that no amnesty, house arrest, or other options were being discussed, and that there were no negotiations.

Analysts have said Erdogan, who has made repeated efforts in the past to end the conflict, is focused on the domestic political dividends that peace could bring as he looks to extend his two-decade rule beyond 2028 when his term expires.

Ending the insurgency would remove a constant flashpoint in Kurdish-run, oil-rich northern Iraq, while facilitating efforts by Syria's new administration to assert greater sway over areas in northern Syria controlled by Kurdish forces.

Ocalan's call, prompted by a surprise proposal in October from an ultra-nationalist ally of Erdogan, has been welcomed by the United States, the European Union and other Western allies, as well as by Turkey's neighbours Iraq and Iran.

Turkey has tried to take advantage of regional geopolitical developments after the fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad following 11 years of civil war, in which Ankara backed rebels seeking his overthrow.

The new Islamist government in Damascus has established good ties with Turkey, which continues to back Syrian Arab fighters in a conflict against Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria.

Since Assad's fall, Turkey has repeatedly demanded that the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the YPG militia disarm, warning of military action otherwise. However, the SDF said that while Ocalan's call was positive, it did not apply to them.

(Editing by William Mallard and Barbara Lewis)