Kurdish group PKK says it is laying down arms and disbanding

The Kurdish group has waged a 40-year insurgency against Turkey, but has now said it will dissolve itself.

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The move followed a call in February by the group's jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, for it to disband.

The PKK insurgency initially aimed to create an independent homeland for Kurds, who account for about 20% of Turkey's population. But it has since moved away from its separatist goals, focusing instead on more autonomy and greater Kurdish rights.

More than 40,000 people have been killed since the insurgency began.

The PKK - which is banned as a terrorist group in Turkey, the EU, UK and US - said it has "completed its historical mission" and would "end the method of armed struggle."