ANKARA, Turkey — The Kurdish militant group PKK announced Monday that it is disbanding and renouncing armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Turkey, ending four decades of hostilities.

The decision by the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers’ Party, promises to end one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East and could have significant impact in Turkey, Syria and Iraq. It was announced by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group, days after the PKK convened a party congress in northern Iraq. In February, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan urged his group to convene a congress and formally decide to disband and disarm.

The call by Ocalan, 76, who continues to wield significant influence in the Kurdish movement despite his 25-year imprisonment, marked a pivotal step toward ending the decades-long conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s. The PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire on March 1 but attached conditions, including the creation of a legal framework for peace negotiations.

– The Associated Press