Official: Kurdish rebels begin gradual pullout from Turkey toward northern Iraq
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Kurdish party leader says rebels have started to move out of Turkey to bases in northern Iraq, a key stage in the peace process with the Turkish government.
The Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, declared a cease-fire in March and agreed to a gradual retreat from Turkish territory as part of peace efforts aimed at ending a nearly three-decade-old conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.
Gultan Kisinak, the chairwoman of Turkey's pro-Kurdish party, told The Associated Press that a first group of fighters started to move toward the border with Iraq on Wednesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The PKK is believed to have between 1,500 and 2,000 fighters inside Turkey. The full withdrawal of forces is expected to take several months.