A ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday saw a handful of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants lay down their weapons, a small but hugely symbolic gesture that marks the beginning of an end to a conflict with the Turkish state that’s lasted nearly five decades and cost tens of thousands of lives.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, held a symbolic ceremony on Friday in northern Iraq. It was the first concrete step toward a promised disarmament, as part of a peace process.

The Kurdish guerrilla group held a symbolic ceremony in which a portion of their weapons was set on fire, marking the start of their disarmament process. This

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that a new page opened for Turkey following the start of a weapons handover by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants. Thirty PKK militants burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday,

In the first footage of him to be released publicly in 25 years, Abdullah Ocalan said the P.K.K. insurgency against Turkey would be replaced by politics.

The imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party has renewed his call for fighters to disarm. In a video message on Wednesday, Abdullah Ocalan emphasized the importance of abandoning armed conflict and embracing peace through politics.