The mountains of northern Iraq have for years been a sanctuary for Kurdish militants fighting a decades-long insurgency against the government in neighboring Turkey.

A momentous ceasefire declaration on Saturday stirred a mix of emotions in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, where people bore the brunt of the 40-year conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish state.

Outlawed Kurdish group the PKK has declared a ceasefire with Turkey after its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the movement to lay down its arms and dissolve itself. In a statement on Saturday,

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Saturday announced a ceasefire with Turkey, two days after its jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan urged the group to disarm and disband. The ceasefire, effective immediately,

While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has acknowledged the ceasefire as a potential step toward peace, he has also warned that military operations against the PKK will resume if disarmament efforts falter.

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Pro-Kurdish politicians are meeting the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, as part of renewed peace efforts.