The militia wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party announced a cease-fire with immediate effect Saturday to halt decades of conflict between Turkey and the Kurds.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Kurdish militants who have waged a 40-year insurgency in Turkey declared a ceasefire on Saturday in what could mark a significant boost to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, two days after their imprisoned leader called for the group to disarm.

Syrian Kurds gathered this week to listen to a message from jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan 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.

Outlawed Kurdish militants Saturday declared a ceasefire with Turkey following a landmark call by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan asking the group to disband and end more than four decades of armed struggle.

A momentous ceasefire declaration has 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.