Kurdish PKK says will disband and end armed struggle

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced Monday its dissolution and the end of more than four decades of armed struggle against the Turkish state, the pro-Kurd ANF news agency reported.

"The 12th PKK Congress has decided to dissolve the PKK's organizational structure and end its method of armed struggle," the group announced in a statement after holding its congress last week.

The PKK's announcement to dissolve itself heeds a call by its founder Abdullah Ocalan, jailed in an island off Istanbul since 1999, who urged his fighters in February to disarm and disband.

In a letter, Ocalan urged the PKK to hold a congress to formalize the decision.

Days later, the PKK's leadership accepted Ocalan's call, declaring a ceasefire.

In a speech on Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hinted that news about a dissolution could come at any moment, adding that his government was determined to "save our country from the scourge of terrorism".

"We are advancing with firm steps on the path to the goal of a terror-free Turkey," he said.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency since 1984.

Its original aim was to carve out a homeland for Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Turkey's 85 million people.

Since Ocalan was jailed there have been various attempts to end the bloodshed, which has cost more than 40,000 lives.