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First Kurdistan Party group lays down arms in northern Iraq — media

Media outlets are not permitted inside the cave where the disarmament ceremony took place

ANKARA, July 11. /TASS/. The first group of militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is banned in Turkey, has laid down their arms in northern Iraq, in the mountains of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate, according to the Haberturk TV channel.

Local authorities are expected to release a video of the process soon.

Media outlets are not allowed inside the cave where the disarmament ceremony took place, and journalists have been broadcasting from several kilometers away from the site.

Earlier, Turkish TV channels showed a convoy of about 20 black minibuses and white SUVs without license plates arriving at the site. The vehicles have since left the area.

The disarmament process took place under heightened security measures provided by law enforcement agencies, with several helicopters monitoring the situation from the air.

It is believed that the disarmament near the cave was overseen by a delegation that included representatives of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy Party, community organizations, and some foreign observers.