May 12 (UPI) -- The Kurdistan Workers' Party, a militant organization that seeks an independent Kurdistan, announced Monday that it was disbanding and ending its conflict with Turkey, a move that is expected to have wide-ranging consequences throughout the region.
The decision was announced by the Firat News Agency, which is closely aligned with the militant group known by the initials PKK, following the completion of its 12th Congress.
"The PKK's struggle has broken the policy of denial and annihilation imposed on our people and has brought the Kurdish issue to a point where it can be resolved through democratic politics. In this respect, it concluded that the PKK has fulfilled its historical mission," the PKK said in a statement.
"On this basis, the 12th Congress decided to dissolve the organizational structure of the PKK and to end the method of armed struggle, under the leadership and implementation of Leader APO (Abdullah Ocalan), thereby bringing to a close all activities conducted under the name of the PKK."
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his foreign ministry have yet to respond to the development.
The PKK was a Marxist-Leninist organization that formed, under Ocalan, in 1978 and sought an independent Kurdistan. It has led an insurgency against Turkey from Syria, where it was based, since 1984. More than 40,000 people are believed to have been killed in the nearly 50-year conflict.
The militant group is considered a terrorist organization by numerous countries, including Turkey, Britain, Canada and the United States.
Its disbanding comes after its long-imprisoned leader, Ocalan, called for the group in late February to end its insurgency against Turkey.
Ocalan, 75, is serving a life sentence at a South Istanbul prison. He was captured in 1999 and sentenced to death but was later commuted to life when Turkey abolished the death penalty.
