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PKK wants mutual assurances of peace

ANKARA, Turkey, March 25 (UPI) -- A cease-fire from Kurdish rebels in Turkey will endure only if both parties to the conflict respect the agreement, a militant leader said.

The Turkish government approached Abdullah Ocalan, jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, in October about a possible peace deal. Ocalan said last week the group, known by its Kurdish initials PKK, would lay down its weapons and leave Turkish territory.

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Acting PKK leader Murat Karayilan said rebel fighters in Turkey have taken their fingers "off the trigger" but maintained the right to self-defense.

"In the face of attacks (from Turkish forces) seeking to destroy us, the militants have the right to self-defense and to retaliate," he was quoted by Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman as saying. "The cease-fire will not live on too long if it is not mutual."

The Turkish Interior Ministry last year called for bounties of as much as $2.6 million for several of top PKK leaders, including Karayilan.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week he welcomed the efforts at peace. The PKK has waged a military separatist campaign against the Turkish military since the 1980s.

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