Abdullah Ocalan, jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, appeared in a rare online video on Wednesday to declare the group's armed struggle against Turkey over and call for a full transition to democratic politics.

Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, first urged the PKK in February to convene a congress and formally dissolve itself. Responding to his call, the PKK announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of hostilities.

Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has announced the end of the group’s armed struggle against Turkiye, calling for a full shift to democratic politics.