The jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, appealed on Thursday to his militant group to disarm and to dissolve itself. His call, if heeded by the PKK fighters, opens the door to ending a conflict that has ravaged southeastern Turkey for four decades and will also have significant implications for the wider region,

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.

Imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan has called on his militant group to lay down its arms and dissolve as part of a bid to end a four-decade long conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.