Rojava opposition urges int’l protection after fresh office attacks

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) on Wednesday called on the international community to prevent attacks on its offices in northeast Syria (Rojava) after the offices of two of its member parties were set ablaze in Qamishli. The ENKS blamed the ruling party for the assaults. 

The ENKS, an umbrella group of Kurdish opposition parties in Rojava, said in a statement that the Qamishli offices of its backbone, the Kurdistan Democratic Party-Syria (PDK-S), and the Kurdistan Democratic Union Party-Syria (Yeketi) were set on fire by masked men the ENKS claims are affiliated with the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD). 

The attacks resulted in significant material damages but no injuries.

Dozens of offices of the ENKS and its member parties in Rojava have come under arson attacks in recent years. The opposition parties have blamed the PYD but the ruling party has denied any involvement. 

“We call on international human rights and the US-led global coalition [against the Islamic State] to take necessary measures to stop these actions,” read the ENKS statement. 

Washington is the guarantor of talks between the ENKS and PYD which have been stalled for years due to disagreements. Although the process was initiated a decade ago, it remained dormant until late 2019 when it entered a new phase.

The ENKS parties do not recognize the Kurdish administration in Rojava and have declined to officially register themselves. In December 2019, the administration decided to allow the ENKS to continue political activities without requiring permission. 

Sulaiman Oso, an ENKS official, told Rudaw English on Wednesday that the latest attacks on their offices are aimed at ending the reconciliation talks and force the ENKS to end its political activities - something he said would never happen due to the opposition parties’ determination to fight for the rights of Kurds in Syria. 

“Nine offices affiliated to the ENKS have been burned since March 1 by the PYD armed men. They deny their involvement but believe otherwise. We know what they want. They want us to stop our political activities and ban us,” he said. 

The office of PDK-S in Kobane was attacked on March 1. The ENKS blamed the Revolutionary Youths, an armed group affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

ENKS officials believe that the Revolutionary Youth is aligned with the PYD. 

“We are troubled by continuing reports of attacks on KNC offices in northern Syria and urgently call for these attacks to stop,” the US embassy in Syria said days after the Kobane attack.

“We also call on all parties to engage in peaceful, meaningful discourse to advance the aspirations of the Syrian people without violence,” added the embassy, which has been closed since the eruption of the Syrian civil war in 2011. 

Hassan Ramzi, a member of KDP-S central committee, said in a video recorded in the burned office that the Revolutionary Youths carried out the Wednesday attacks, adding that the armed men chanted “betrayal.”

“These acts do not serve the Kurdish cause,” Ramzi said. 

Rojava authorities and PYD officials accuse ENKS of betrayal due to its close ties with Ankara. The umbrella group is part of the Turkey-backed Syrian opposition.