The Turkish armed forces refuted claims that the number of troops is being reduced in certain regions due to the Kurdish rebels' withdrawal from the country, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Deployment of military forces is reorganized every summer and winter in compliance with the changing security measures, the Turkish armed forces said in a statement.

The withdrawal of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members from Turkish soil will reportedly begin on May 8 and end by autumn, according to Murat Karayılan, a senior leader at the group’s base in the Kandil Mountains of northern Iraq.