Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) began surrendering their weapons on Friday in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, marking the start of a phased disarmament process, according to Iraqi and Turkish media reports.

Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported that the PKK officially launched its disarmament ceremony, with the initial phase involving a symbolic gesture by a group of fighters. The full disarmament is expected to be completed by September.

This move follows the PKK’s official decision on May 12 to dissolve itself and lay down arms, in response to a February 27 call by its founder, Abdullah Öcalan, urging an end to the armed struggle against the Turkish state.

The development signals a major shift in a decades-long conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s.