The number of 30 to 40 fighters is mentioned, but this number is not official. In total, it is estimated that there are more than 2,000 armed PKK fighters in the north of Iraq, writes Deutsche Vele.
But with these weapons they can no longer seriously threaten the Turkish state, says Thomas Schmidinger, who teaches political science at Kurdistan University in Erbil and has been following Kurdish aspirations for autonomy across the region for years.
"Given the development of military technology in recent years, especially with drones – PKK weapons no longer represented real protection."
This, along with political development, is one of the reasons for giving up the armed struggle.
More than 40,000 deaths during the decade
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been waging a guerilla war against Turkey since 1984 – in the hope that the Kurds in Turkey will gain greater autonomy and rights.
Estimates indicate that more than 40,000 people have died in the fighting over the past decade. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, as well as in the European Union and the United States.
In May, the PKK announced that it would give up armed struggle against the Turkish state and instead focus on political dialogue. PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan (76), who has been serving a life sentence for high treason in a prison near Istanbul since 1999, confirmed this in a video message broadcast the day before yesterday, July 9:
"This is a voluntary transition from armed struggle to the phase of democratic politics. This is not a defeat, but must be considered a historic success."
WATCH: PKK lays down weapons and burns them in a symbolic ceremony— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) July 11, 2025
Turkey continues the fight
Politicians from the pro-Kurdish Turkish DEM party also plan to attend the ceremony in northern Iraq. Their spokeswoman Aysegul Dogan said:
"We will witness the first step in this historical process in Sulaymaniyah ".
#PKK members burn their weapons, ending their 40-year armed struggle. #disarmament #CHANNEL8— Channel 8 English (@Channel8English) July 11, 2025
The Kurds are talking about a historic moment - but there has been no official response from the Turkish state to the PKK's peace offer.
"It's a bizarre situation. The PKK decided to disband and stop the armed struggle - but the war actually continued, and that was by Turkey. On the day when the decision was made at the 12th PKK congress, Turkey bombed the PKK fighters, and it actually continues to this day," says Schmidinger.
Retreat to the Qandil Mountains
The bombs this scientist is talking about were not dropped on southeastern Turkey, but on northern Iraq, where the PKK was increasingly retreating, especially in the difficult-to-access Qandil mountains.
"The fighting between the PKK and the Turkish army in recent years has taken place almost exclusively here in Iraq, in the mountainous areas of Iraqi Kurdistan. The armed forces of the PKK actually withdrew from Turkey during the last peace process," adds Schmidinger.
What will the PKK do after handing over its weapons?
If the PKK fighters lay down or destroy their weapons now, the question arises: what will they do after that? Will Turkey declare some sort of general amnesty and will they and their families return to Turkey? There is no question about that for now.
The alternative could be to join armed Kurdish groups in Syria or stay in Kurdish-ruled northern Iraq. However, relations between the PKK and the Kurdish autonomous government in Erbil, Iraq, are also fraught with conflict, writes Deutsche Welle.
