PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan calls on banned Kurdish group to lay down arms and dissolve

PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has asked the members of the banned Kurdish group to lay down arms on Thursday.

The imprisoned PKK leader’s long-awaited statement was read out by deputies of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Freedom and Democracy Party (DEM) at the “Call for Peace and Democratic Society” meeting held at the Seçkine World Hotel in Istanbul.

Earlier on Thursday, senior officials from DEM met with Öcalan on Thursday, as part of renewed peace efforts between Ankara and the banned Kurdish group.

The call could potentially end a conflict that has spanned over four decades and claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Öcalan, 75, has been imprisoned on the island of Imrali, off Istanbul, since 1999 after being convicted of treason.

Despite his incarceration, he continues to wield significant influence over the PKK. The group’s leadership is widely expected to heed any call Öcalan makes, although some factions within the group could resist, analysts say.

This is a developing story and our journalists are working on further updates.