Kurdish PKK fighters burn weapons to start disarmament
PKK fighters burnt their weapons during a disarming ceremony in Iraq. Photo: Kurdistan Workers Party media office via Reuters
Thirty Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic and significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Turkey.
Footage from the ceremony showed the fighters, half of them women, queuing to place AK-47 assault rifles, bandoliers and other guns into a large grey cauldron.
Flames later engulfed the black gun shafts pointed to the sky, as Kurdish, Iraqi and Turkish officials watched nearby.
The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its separatist struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.
After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Turkey and the wider region.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped the PKK's dissolution would bolster Turkish security and regional stability.
"We voluntarily destroy our weapons, in your presence, as a step of goodwill and determination," senior PKK figure Bese Hozat said.
The end of Turkey's conflict with the PKK could have consequences across the region, including in neighbouring Syria where the United States is allied with Syrian Kurdish forces that Ankara deems a PKK offshoot. (Reuters)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
2 hours ago
- RTHK
Palestinian move makes Canada deal 'hard': Trump
Palestinian move makes Canada deal 'hard': Trump Donald Trump's Truth Social post came soon after Canada's announcement that it is recognising a Palestinian state. File photo: Reuters US President Donald Trump said it will be difficult to make a trade deal with Canada after the country announced it is backing Palestinian statehood. "Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh' Canada!!!" he wrote on Truth Social. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Carney announced on Wednesday that Canada is planning to recognise a Palestinian state at a meeting of the United Nations in September. Canada's announcement followed similar moves by France and Britain. Israel and its closest ally, the United States, both rejected Carney's statements. Canada and the US are working on negotiating a trade deal by August 1, the date Trump is threatening to impose a 35 percent tariff on all Canadian goods not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Carney said on Wednesday that tariff negotiations with the Trump administration have been constructive but that the talks may not conclude by the deadline. (Reuters)
RTHK
9 hours ago
- RTHK
Trump announces tariffs blitz as deadline looms
Trump announces tariffs blitz as deadline looms The latest Trump tariff announcements cover everything from copper and small-value shipments, to levies on South Korea, India and Brazil. Photo: Reuters US President Donald Trump has issued a blitz of tariff announcements ranging from changes to previously threatened levies on imports of copper and on goods from Brazil to ending an exemption from tariffs for small-value shipments from overseas. The wave of announcements came as the clock ticked down toward an August 1 deadline for higher tariff rates to kick in on goods imported from most of the world as Trump presses on with his bid to reshape global trade. The president also touted what he said was a deal with South Korea that would include a 15 percent US tariff on imports from the country. Capping a day that began with Trump announcing a 25 percent tariff rate on goods from India after months of negotiations between Washington and New Delhi failed to produce a trade deal, Trump said a 50 percent tariff on copper pipes and wiring would kick in on Friday. Details of the levy, though, fell short of the sweeping restrictions expected and left out copper input materials such as ores, concentrates and cathodes. The surprise move dragged down US copper prices more than 17 percent on the Comex exchange and unwound a premium over the London global benchmark that had grown in recent weeks, with shipments diverted there in anticipation of higher domestic prices. "Markets are now busily repricing refined copper much lower after Trump's epic backflip on his own import tariff policy," said Tom Price, an analyst at the London brokerage Panmure Liberum. "Someone must have finally got through to (Trump) that the US economy simply can't afford this new trade-hit." Trump also slapped a 50 percent tariff on most Brazilian goods to fight what he has called a "witch hunt" against former President Jair Bolsonaro, but softened the blow by excluding sectors such as aircraft, energy and orange juice from the heavier levies. That came as a relief for many in Brasilia, who since Trump announced the tariffs had been urging protections for major exporters caught in the crossfire. "We're not facing the worst-case scenario," Brazilian Treasury Secretary Rogerio Ceron told reporters. "It's a more benign outcome than it could have been." The new tariffs will go into effect on August 6, not August 1 as Trump announced originally. The White House also said the United States is suspending a "de minimis" exemption that allowed low-value commercial shipments to be shipped to the United States without facing tariffs. Under Trump's order, packages valued at or under US$800 sent to the US outside of the international postal network will now face "all applicable duties" starting on August 29, the White House said. Trump earlier targeted packages from mainland China and Hong Kong. The tax-and-spending bill recently signed by Trump repealed the legal basis for the de minimis exemption worldwide starting on July 1, 2027. "Trump is acting more quickly to suspend the de minimis exemption than the OBBBA requires, to deal with national emergencies and save American lives and businesses now," the White House said, referring to the bill known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Goods shipped through the postal system will face one of two tariffs: either an "ad valorem duty" equal to the effective tariff rate of the package's country of origin or, for six months, a specific tariff of US$80 to US$200 depending on the country of origin's tariff rate. Later, Trump said he had settled on a 15 percent US tariff on imports from South Korea as part of an agreement with the Asian trading partner that avoids even higher levies. As part of the arrangement, South Korea would invest US$350 billion in the United States in projects selected by Trump and purchase US$100 billion of liquefied natural gas and other energy products, Trump said. (Reuters)
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
US to impose 15% tariff on South Korean imports, says Trump
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States would charge a 15 per cent tariff on imports from South Korea as part of an agreement with the Asian trading partner that avoids even higher levies. Advertisement 'I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has agreed to a Full and Complete Trade Deal with the Republic of Korea,' Trump said on Truth Social. The South Korean government could not immediately be reached for comment. Reuters has not verified the terms of a deal. As part of the arrangement, South Korea would invest US$350 billion in the United States in projects selected by Trump and buy US$100 billion of liquefied natural gas and other energy products, the US president said. It was not immediately clear how the investment deals would be structured or over what time frame. Trump said additional investments would be announced later. Advertisement
