A military coup in Turkey forces much of the PKK to flee to neighboring countries such as Syria and Lebanon, where the fighters train in the Bekaa Valley. Ocalan leaves a year earlier, in 1979. The PKK carries out its first armed attack against Turkish security posts, marking the start of its armed insurgency.

The PKK has "waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984", said Politico. Originally, it aimed to create an independent state for Kurds, an ethnic group of about 40 million people spread over Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Such independence was promised by the allied powers after the First World War, but never granted.

The Kurdish insurgent group PKK in Turkey says it will lay down its arms and disband after a decades-long fight that killed tens of thousands.

Ankara's strategic win boosts its regional power, diminishing Iranian allies and testing Israel's strategic depth in the Levant

Trump’s Middle East trip comes amid a heady few days for Turkey, with news the PKK would disarm and as it is set to host delegations from Russia and Ukraine.