First PKK militants arrive in N Iraq
Iran Press TV
Tue May 14, 2013 8:44AM GMT
The first group of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants have arrived in northern Iraq as part of a peace initiative with Ankara.
The group of 15 militants, including six women, arrived in the Harur area at about 6:00 a.m. (0300GMT) on Tuesday.
"We are the first group to reach the safe area in Iraq," AFP quoted Jagar, the leader of the group, as saying.
"Our withdrawal came according to orders from the leader (Abdullah) Ocalan, as we want to open a way for peace through this withdrawal," Jagar added.
Thousands of PKK militants are expected to withdraw from Turkey to settle in their strongholds in the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. The withdrawal, which will take three to four months, is part of a peace drive agreed upon by Ankara and PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan earlier this year.
Ocalan, who was captured by Turkish security forces in the Kenyan capital Nairobi in 1999, is serving a life sentence at Imrali Island prison on charges of leading the PKK in its armed campaign against Ankara.
The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead.
Iraq’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that Baghdad would not allow the armed militants to enter its territory as it would harm its “security and stability.”
SAB/HN
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