Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi announced on Thursday that 219 members of the PKK terrorist group have surrendered to Turkish authorities since the group announced its dissolution on May 12, 2025.
Speaking to broadcaster 24 TV, Çiftçi commented on the terror-free Türkiye initiative launched in 2024 and how his ministry contributed to the process, which aims to complete the disarmament of the PKK.
Çiftçi noted that one recent step involved the removal of 2,763 security checkpoints set up particularly in southeastern Türkiye, which has been a hotbed of PKK attacks. “Our inspectors still work in the field and try to determine whether we can remove other checkpoints as well,” he said.
The minister, a former governor who served in the southeastern and eastern provinces that were affected by PKK terrorism, noted how checkpoints have been ubiquitous there as part of security measures.
Emphasizing that the Ministry of Interior has been closely monitoring the initiative, Çiftçi said: "We have been carrying out efforts to persuade members of the terrorist group to surrender. The terrorist group laid down its arms on May 12, 2025. Since that day, 219 members of the group have been persuaded to surrender. Of these, 134 have surrendered this year alone, within this six-month period. Checkpoints were another component of our efforts. We continue our search and sweep operations in the field. We have located 58 shelters, hideouts, storage sites or other living areas used by the terrorist group, and we have dismantled them. Our operations on the ground, conducted through the General Directorate of Security and the Gendarmerie General Command, are continuing at full speed."
