A ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday saw a handful of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants lay down their weapons, a small but hugely symbolic gesture that marks the beginning of an end to a conflict with the Turkish state that’s lasted nearly five decades and cost tens of thousands of lives.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, held a symbolic ceremony on Friday in northern Iraq. It was the first concrete step toward a promised disarmament, as part of a peace process.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced a significant development in Turkey's fight against terrorism, as PKK militants begin handing over their weapons. This move marks a new chapter in Turkey's history and signals the opening doors of a powerful future,

In the first footage of him to be released publicly in 25 years, Abdullah Ocalan said the P.K.K. insurgency against Turkey would be replaced by politics.