Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, have begun laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony marking the first step toward the group’s promised disarmament. The move on

According to AFP, thirty Kurdish PKK fighters destroyed their weapons at the brief ceremony in a cave. "As a gesture of goodwill, a number of PKK fighters, who took part in fighting Turkish forces in recent years, will destroy or burn their weapons in a ceremony," a PKK commander told AFP on July 1, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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