Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for full support of the disarmament of Kurdish militants that began with a handover of the first batch of weapons by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) forces,

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today his country had achieved victory after Kurdish rebels destroyed their weapons, ending their decades-long armed struggle against Ankara. Friday’s symbolic weapons destruction ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics – part of a broader effort to end one of the region’s longest-running conflicts.

The ceremony took place under tight security at a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan - the disarmament process is expected to last all summer.