PKK accuses Turkey of lagging on peace process

The PKK accused the Turkish state on Thursday of doing too little to pursue a peace process that began in 2024, saying the Kurdish group had withdrawn all combat forces from Turkey and near the border.

In comments to the ANF Kurdish news agency, the Kurdistan Workers' Party said it had withdrawn armed forces “both within and outside of Turkey” that could be considered near the border. It said the move was intended to prevent the government from making excuses for what the group called an inadequate approach.

Turkey's parliament passed a law in August offering limited amnesty for PKK militants, the first legislative step toward ending a decades-long conflict that has left about 50,000 people dead.

The law did not say what will happen to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is 77 and has spent the past 27 years in solitary confinement on Imrali prison island near Istanbul.

A top adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in September that Ocalan would join a disarmament panel as part of the process, but said that did not mean he would be released. The PKK has repeatedly demanded Ocalan's freedom as part of the peace process.