Ankara - Saba:
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) began the first formal steps to hand over its weapons on Friday, marking a historic milestone that ends more than four decades of armed conflict with Turkey.
This step comes in response to a call from party leader Abdullah Ocalan, who announced in a video message the end of the armed struggle and called for a full transition to legal political action and the rule of law.
The weapons handover ceremony began today in an area near the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, where most of the party's fighters have been based for years.
The process will take place in stages, with a group of party members initially "symbolically" laying down their weapons. The disarmament process is expected to be fully completed within a few months, with completion expected by next September.
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