ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkey’s defense ministry said Thursday that they would continue their military actions against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in areas where they are present, despite the group’s declaration that it would lay down arms and dissolve after more than four decades of armed struggle against Ankara.

The PKK on Monday published the results of its recent seminal congress, announcing that the group has decided to dissolve and disband after months of negotiations.

A defense ministry spokesperson said in a briefing that their decision to press on with military operations against the newly dissolved group is to be “certain” that the threat is removed.

Zeki Akturk said that their operations will include “land search and scan in the regions used by the separatist terrorist organization PKK; detection and destruction of caves, shelters, bombs, and homemade explosives… until it is certain that the region is cleared and will no longer pose a threat to our country.”

"We emphasize that the decision taken must be implemented without delay, that the concrete steps to be taken on the field will be closely monitored, that we are careful and prepared against any situation, including sabotage of the process and verbal and action provocations that may occur during this process. The greatest share in the success achieved in the fight against terrorism,” Akturk said.

The Turkish military’s decision came a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "The era of terrorism, weapons, violence, and illegality is over."

"What matters most is the implementation," Erdogan referred to, referring to the PKK’s announcement, pledging to "meticulously monitor whether the promises are kept."

The PKK was an armed group that, up until its disbandment in May 2025, claimed to fight for increased Kurdish rights in Turkey, predominantly engaging in armed struggle with Turkish forces from the mountainous borders of the Kurdish Region, Iraq, and Syria.

The group had long been recognized as a terrorist organization by Ankara, the US, and the European Union. It was also declared a banned organization by Iraq in 2024.

The PKK’s announcement to lay down arms came after a February call by Ocalan, in which he urged the party to do so, arguing that it was time for the Kurdish struggle to be moved to a dialogue-based, democratic, and political arena.

Ocalan on Tuesday thanked his party’s leadership for heeding his call to disband and dissolve.

Ocalan has been serving a life sentence at Imrali prison, a small but high-security facility on Imrali Island in the Sea of Marmara, since February 1999.

The recent major developments across Turkey’s political landscape serve as a fresh breath of air to millions in Turkey and beyond—Turks and Kurds alike—who have endured decades upon decades of a bloody conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.