The PKK said it withdrew fighters from the Zap region of northern Iraq on November 16, calling the move a "significant practical contribution" to the peace process with Turkey. This follows the group's renunciation of armed struggle six months ago and subsequent actions including weapons destruction and withdrawal from Turkish soil. Ankara has set up a cross-party commission to prepare legal and political integration measures as the PKK pledges to pursue democratic methods. Observers will watch whether the pullback leads to lasting de-escalation.
PKK Withdraws from Zap Region in Northern Iraq, Says Move Strengthens Peace Process with Turkey
The PKK said it withdrew fighters from the Zap region of northern Iraq on November 16, calling the move a "significant practical contribution" to the peace process with Turkey. This follows the group's renunciation of armed struggle six months ago and subsequent actions including weapons destruction and withdrawal from Turkish soil. Ankara has set up a cross-party commission to prepare legal and political integration measures as the PKK pledges to pursue democratic methods. Observers will watch whether the pullback leads to lasting de-escalation.
07:53 PM, 11/17/2025Conflict
PKK announces withdrawal from Zap
The Kurdish militant group the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced on Monday that its fighters had withdrawn from the strategically important Zap region of northern Iraq on the evening of 16 November. The group said the move was intended to bolster an ongoing peace process with Ankara.
"As of the evening of November 16, our forces... in the Zap region have been withdrawn," the PKK said in a statement carried by the Firat news agency. "Currently the risk of conflict in the area has been completely eliminated."
The withdrawal follows a series of conciliatory steps by the PKK after its leadership formally renounced armed struggle against Turkey six months ago. The group announced its dissolution in May, began destroying weapons in July and, by late October, said it had pulled fighters back from Turkish soil into northern Iraq.
Context and significance
Turkey and the PKK have engaged in indirect talks since late last year. In February, the PKK's jailed founder, Abdullah Öcalan, urged militants to lay down arms and pursue democratic, political avenues to advance Kurdish rights. Ankara has created a cross-party parliamentary commission to prepare legal and political measures for integrating former PKK members into formal politics as part of the peace process.
The Zap region has long been a focal point for PKK bases and Turkish military operations: Turkish forces launched a ground operation there in 2008, and the area has seen repeated clashes over the years. The PKK has treated Zap as symbolically important—its initial headquarters were once located there before the organisation moved east to the Qandil Mountains.
A local resident told AFP that Zap is sparsely populated, with mainly PKK fighters and Turkish troops present aside from seasonal shepherds. The resident said the PKK sometimes used drones to deliver food and clothing to units in the rugged, mountainous terrain.
What comes next
The PKK says it now intends to pursue a democratic struggle to defend the rights of the Kurdish minority, following Öcalan's call for a political, non-violent approach. Öcalan, 76, has been serving a life sentence in near-total isolation on Imrali island near Istanbul since 1999.
Turkish authorities and international observers will likely watch whether the withdrawal from Zap leads to a sustained de-escalation and concrete legal and political steps toward reconciliation. For now, both Ankara and the PKK present the move as a practical step toward reducing the immediate risk of renewed conflict in the area.