ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish security forces have killed 26 Kurdish militants in the past week, the Turkish defense ministry said Thursday, even as the militants' imprisoned leader called on his group to disband and his fighters declared a ceasefire.

Öcalan (center) with the DEM Party delegation at İmralı Island Prison, where he has been held since 1999. A video of Öcalan delivering his message is expected to be released later this month during Newroz celebrations, the most significant national festival for Kurds.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, designated a terror group by the U.S., has declared a ceasefire amid changes in the Middle East.

Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to disarm and disband, a move with far-reaching political and security consequences for the region.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party has called on his organization to disarm and dissolve as part of a new effort to end 40 years of fighting between the state and the banned militant group.

Abdullah Ocalan’s appeal raised the prospect of an end to a conflict between Turkey and the PKK that since the 1980s has killed an estimated 40,000 people.

Kurdish militants who have waged a 40-year insurgency in Turkey have declared a ceasefire, just two days after their imprisoned leader called for the group to disarm.

Outlawed Kurdish group the PKK has declared a ceasefire with Turkey after its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the movement to lay down its arms and dissolve itself. In a statement on Saturday,

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A senior Turkish official on Friday called for the dissolution of affiliates in Iraq and Syria of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, a day after the PKK’s imprisoned leader urged his militant group to disarm and disband in a bid to end a four-decade conflict with Turkey.

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Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party known as PLK, sent a letter calling for the group to disarm and dissolve to make peace with Turkey.

The announcement by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, comes against the backdrop of fundamental changes in the region, including the reconfiguration of power in neighboring Syria after the toppling of President Bashar Assad,