New groups of guerrillas from the regions of Black Sea, Dersim and Serhat have arrived in Media Defense Areas in the scope of the withdrawal process which started on 8 May after the call Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan made on 21 March.

A welcoming ceremony, also attended by HPG (People's Defense Forces) commander Rojhat Belati, was held in Media Defense Areas following the arrival of the new groups on Thursday.

Speaking at the ceremony, Faik Dersim, leader of the Black Sea group, remarked that the guerrillas in northern Kurdistan have withdrawn from their areas in line with Kurdish leader Öcalan's call.

Referring to the statements of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who said that “the Kurdish side hasn't kept their promise”, saying that only 20 percent of the Kurdish guerrillas have withdrawn from Turkish borders so far, Dersim sremarked that “Guerrillas and the Kurdish people are doing their part in the ongoing process. Guerrilla units have withdrawn from Turkish territory despite all the difficulties they have faced. However, the government has taken no concrete steps so far despite pretending to have done so”.

Speaking after, guerrilla Ladin Irmak, leader of the Dersim group, also underlined that the guerrilla groups are continuing their withdrawal in spite of the intense military activity going on in the Kurdish region. Irmak also criticized the government for not doing its part in the ongoing process.

Guerrilla commander Ararat Serhat, leader of the group from Serhat, pointed out that “As the militants of the Kurdish movement, our major aim is to take part in the process our leader initiated”.