The group of 30 members burned their weapons in a cauldron in Iraq. The group has been fighting with Turkey for 40 years.

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq, July 11 (Reuters) - Dozens of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants will hand over their weapons in a ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant first step toward ending a decades-long insurgency with Turkey.

Thirty PKK fighters destroyed their weapons at a symbolic ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday, two months after the Kurdish rebels ended their decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state.The ceremony marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics as part of a broader effort to end one of the region's longest-running conflicts.

According to AFP, thirty Kurdish PKK fighters destroyed their weapons at the brief ceremony in a cave. "As a gesture of goodwill, a number of PKK fighters, who took part in fighting Turkish forces in recent years, will destroy or burn their weapons in a ceremony," a PKK commander told AFP on July 1, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party has renewed his call for fighters to disarm. Abdullah Ocalan emphasized in a video message on Wednesday the importance of abandoning armed conflict and embracing peace through politics.

The ceremony marks a fresh turning point in a peace process aimed at ending the militant group’s four-decade-long armed campaign against Turkey.

It is part of a larger process in which the PKK is moving to lay down its arms.The PKK had said it would lay down its arms and disband back in May. However, it is not clear when this process will begin and how long it will take.