A KURDISH resistance group that has waged a 40-year insurgency in Turkey declared a ceasefire on Saturday.

The announcement comes two days after the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK’s) imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, called for the group to disarm.

The Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group, published the group’s formal statement on Saturday. 

“We declare a ceasefire effective today to pave the way for the implementation of Leader Apo’s call for peace and democratic society. None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked,” it said, referring to Mr Ocalan by his nickname.

The Turkish government had not formally responded at time of print, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described Mr Ocalan’s call for a ceasefire as “an opportunity to take a historic step toward tearing down the wall of terror that has stood between (Turkish and Kurdish peoples’) 1,000-year-old brotherhood.”

But Mr Erdogan warned Turkey would “always keep our iron fist ready in case the hand we extend is left in the air or bitten.”

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has led to tens of thousands of deaths since it began in 1984. The ceasefire is the first sign of a breakthrough since peace talks between the PKK and Ankara broke down in the summer of 2015.

A delegation of Kurdish politicians announced Mr Ocalan’s call for the PKK to lay down its arms and disband on Thursday, after visiting him on his island prison.

In its statement, the PKK’s executive committee said Mr Ocalan’s call indicated that a “new historical process has begun in Kurdistan and the Middle East.” 

Some observers believe the main aim of the reconciliation effort is to help Mr Erdogan’s government secure Kurdish support for a new constitution that would allow him to remain in power beyond 2028, when his term of office ends.