PKK withdraws from four bases in northern Iraq

ANKARA

The PKK has withdrawn from four cave bases in northern Iraq near the Turkish border, Turkish security sources said on Oct. 12.

The group vacated the Hebat, Yajk, Sabri and Sason shelters in Metina’s Baze area on Oct. 8, the sources said.

The area had long served as a base and transit point for the group.

The withdrawal is part of the government’s “terror-free Türkiye” initiative, under which the PKK decided to dissolve last year.

Speaking in Gaziantep on Oct. 12, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said some caves and weapons in Metina had been handed over to state institutions, describing the handover as an important step.

He said applying legal measures covering PKK members required security agencies to confirm the group’s disarmament and dissolution, followed by an announcement by the National Security Council.

The Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration was published in the Official Gazette on Aug. 18.

Kurtulmuş said a board chaired by the vice president would oversee the process, alongside a parliamentary monitoring committee.

He also called for complete disarmament and steps to strengthen the rule of law and democratic standards.

Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, meanwhile voiced support for the process at the Middle East Research Institute forum in Erbil on Oct. 12.

Barzani said the initiative was serious and that concerns about its pace were understandable, adding that the issue could not be resolved overnight.

“It may not be moving as quickly as we would like, but it is moving in the right direction,” he said.

Barzani said Erbil was ready to contribute. He also said whoever resolved the issue would deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, singling out President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.