ANKARA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A group of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants burned their weapons on Friday, in what Türkiye has welcomed as a symbolic and significant step toward disarmament.
Footage from the semi-official Anadolu Agency showed approximately 30 militants -- including 15 women -- emerging from a cave near the Surdas district in Iraq's northern Sulaymaniyah province. They formed a line to place AK-47 assault rifles, bandoliers, and other firearms into a large grey cauldron, which was then set ablaze.
Türkiye's Ruling Justice and Development Party spokesperson Omer Celik described the event as a "critical threshold" in achieving a "terror-free Türkiye."
"The process of surrender must be completed swiftly. With our president's determination, this process -- carried out as a state project -- continues vigilantly against all provocations to achieve its goals," he said on the social media platform X.
The public event was attended by representatives from Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization, the Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraqi officials, security forces, civil society organizations, and members of the media, according to Anadolu. ■
