The BBC's Chris Morris: Highly unlikely the PKK will be allowed to leave unchallenged

Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, ordered an end to the armed struggle after he was sentenced to death for treason in July.

The withdrawal, scheduled for 1 September has been brought forward because of last week's devastating earthquake, according to a PKK statement carried by the German-based DEM news agency.

"To unilaterally stop the war at this time of heavy disaster is the greatest support to the state and people of Turkey," said the PKK statement.

The PKK said earlier this month that it would transform from a guerrilla group into a political organisation. It promised a unilateral ceasefire and a withdrawal.

It did not say where the forces would go, but the Turkish Government says they have bases in northern Iraq, Iran and Syria.

The PKK also announced a unilateral ceasefire with a rival Iraqi Kurdish group, the Kurdistan Democratic Party. In the past, the Iraqi group has helped Turkish troops fight the PKK in northern Iraq.

In its statement, the PKK attacked the government for its slow response to the earthquake, saying that Turkey had lavished resources on fighting the Kurdish rebellion, to the detriment of its ability to cope with a natural disaster.

Goodwilll gesture

Abdullah Ocalan made a courtroom call for a PKK withdrawal

The PKK asked the Turkish Government to reciprocate for the withdrawal with a goodwill gesture. "In order to attain the desired goal of peace, Turkey must also contribute to efforts," it said.

Turkey has refused throughout the 15-year-old war to negotiate with the rebels, whom it considers terrorists. The conflict has killed 37,000 people, most of them Kurds.

Turkish emergency rule authorities in the mainly Kurdish southeast said on Wednesday that their troops had killed 10 PKK guerrillas overnight in fighting in the southeast.