Ankara - KUNA
A total of 988 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters surrendered to Turkish security authorities since the start of the peace talks between the government and the outlawed group in 2012.
The peace process, aimed at ending the four-decade-long conflict with the PKK, has proved fruitful with a growing number of terrorists laying down their arms, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Sunday, citing reports of the Ministry of Interior between 2012 and 2015.
"In 2012, 150 terrorists surrendered; this number increased to 233 with the country's historic solution process," according to the AA report.
A total of 500 PKK fighters laid down their arms and surrendered in 2014 and 105 more fighters surrendered in the first three months of 2015.
The Turkish government launched an initiative in early 2013 publicly known as the "solution process" to end the dispute which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey as well as by the US and the European Union.