Kurdish PKK burns guns in cauldron in big step towards ending Turkey conflict

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

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About 30 fighters, men and women, placed their weapons in a cauldron, starting a disarmament process expected to last all summer.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the ceremony marked an "important step towards our goal of a terror-free Turkey".

Some 40,000 people have been killed since the conflict began, and the PKK is listed as a terror group in Turkey, the US, EU and UK. Its disarmament will be felt not just in Turkey but in Iraq, Syria and Iran.

A convoy of reporters and politicians, including members of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Dem party, were taken to a well known tourist spot to witness the ceremony - at Jasana cave 50km (30 miles) north-west of the city of Suleymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan.