Even from the island prison where he has spent the past 26 years, Abdullah Ocalan still wields power over the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the rebel group he founded to fight for a Kurdish homeland.

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.

The group, the P.K.K., made its declaration days after its long-imprisoned leader urged the movement to disarm and disband, but there are still many questions about the prospects for ending 40 years of deadly conflict.

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.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militia on Saturday declared an immediate ceasefire, two days after its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan called on fighters to lay down their arms and dissolve the group.

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. In Saturday's statement, the PKK said it hoped Turkey would release Ocalan, who has been imprisoned in solitary confinement since 1999, so he could lead a process of disarmament.

Move hailed as a “historic opportunity,” but the group fighting for Kurdish independence stopped short of declaring its dissolution.