Kurdish militants who have fought in Turkey for 40 years have announced a ceasefire, two days after their imprisoned leader said the group should lay down its arms.
The Firat News Agency, a media outlet affiliated with the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) group, published the statement, which read: "We declare a ceasefire effective today in order to pave the way for the implementation of our leader's call for peace and a democratic society."
The leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, has been in prison in Turkey since 1999.
The group said that "none of our forces will take armed action unless attacked."
Kurdish militants have been fighting for 40 years for an independent state or autonomy, mainly in eastern Turkey.
On February 27, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his militant group to lay down its arms, a call that was welcomed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the start of a new phase in Ankara's campaign to have a "terrorism-free" state.
The Kurdish YPG forces, which lead the US-backed SDF fighters in the fight against the Islamic State militant group in Syria, said Ocalan's message would not apply to them.
Turkey accuses the YPG of being linked to the PKK.
In recent months, Turkey has dismissed several Kurdish mayors and replaced them with government appointees.
Ocalan founded the PKK in 1978 and launched an armed uprising in 1984. An estimated 40,000 people have been killed during the conflict, some in PKK attacks on military and civilian targets and others in Turkish military operations against the Turkish group.
In the PPK statement, the group also called for Ocalan's release from prison./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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