SDF investigation findings on missing opposition members in NE Syria

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Friday the conclusions from their recent investigation regarding the alleged abduction of members of the Kurdish National Council (ENKS).

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), which Kurds call Rojava, is ruled by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its allies, referred to collectively as the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM). ENKS is a coalition of opposition parties, and they have repeatedly claimed that their members are being detained by the SDF because of their political views.

After years of disputes, both political coalitions have shown their willingness to reconcile and work towards Kurdish unity in northern Syria. As a show of goodwill, the PYD-governed NES announced on December 17 that ENKS no longer needs permission to openly practice politics in Rojava. They further announced that ENKS could re-open their previously shut down offices without seeking approval from the NES government.

The NES added that it would also drop all legal cases against ENKS members, and form a committee to investigate the Council’s claims that its members are being held in NES prisons for political reasons.

The SDF, which serves as the NES military, said on Friday that their findings show that eight of the people on the list provided by ENKS, “disappeared in the stage of security chaos and overlapping areas of control on the ground, and the proliferation of terrorist and intelligence cells that belonged to local and regional parties.”

According to the SDF, Jamil Omar, Behzad Dorson and Nidal Othman disappeared in 2012. Ahmed Othman Sidou, Ahmed Khalil Sino, Idris Alou, and Shaaban Abdel Hamid Sheikho disappeared in 2013, and Amir Hamid, Fouad Ibrahim, and Saud Mizar Al-Essa disappeared in 2014, 2017 and 2019 respectively. 

“The first eight cases of disappearance preceded the formation of the autonomous administration [NES] and its institutions formally, before the date of formation of the administration on 21 January, 2014, even the first cases were before the formation of the YPG,” claimed the SDF statement. “YPG” refers to the People’s Protection Units - the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party which dominates the SDF ranks. 

“Despite the difficulties that the committee faced during the investigations, and the many changes that took place on the scene of events, it – the committee – was able to reach some details that would clarify the fate of some of the names mentioned in the list,” the SDF statement added.  

As per the SDF findings, Jamil Omar was kidnapped by the Syrian regime security forces in Qamishli. However, Amir Hamid and Fouad Ibrahim disappeared under SDF-controlled areas, so the investigation concluded that the NES government bears the moral responsibility of finding them. Suud Mizar Issa was detained by PYD-affiliated Asayesh (“security”) forces in November but released in December. 

Issa’s release on December 20 was the first of its kind since the NES initiative to unify Kurdish discourse in Rojava. 

When releasing the ENKS detainee, the Asayesh claimed that Issa was held by their forces for colluding with “external parties” to endanger the region, but ENKS officials told Rudaw that all of their members were detained for their political views. 

Both ENKS officials and Syrian Kurdish residents of the NES have welcomed the Kurdish authorities’ initiative.  

In the past, the opposition parties refused to recognize the Kurdish administration in Rojava, accusing it of being unwilling to share power. ENKS chose not to follow some NES procedures for opening political offices, resulting in a 2016 crackdown which led to the closure of their offices. 

TEV-DEM struck a number of power-sharing agreements with ENKS between 2014 and 2016, but none of the agreements were implemented. The two sides were locked in disagreement, with each side blaming the other for failing to honor the accords.

A total of 3286 people are missing in northeast Syria, including the abduction of 2,368 by Turkish-backed militants, 544 by Islamic State (ISIS), and 374 by the Syrian regime in the part of Qamishli it controls, according to the SDF.

The multi-ethnic force did not mention those abducted under their reign, but SDF commander Mazloum Abdi tweeted earlier in the day that eight people are “missing” in SDF-controlled areas.