Syrian Kurdish party office torched in attacks on Kurdistan Flag day

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Protesters torched the Kurdish National Council (KNC) office in the Syrian Kurdish town of al-Darbasiyah (Dirbêsiyê‎) where KNC members were holding Kurdistan Flag Day celebrations.

Commander-in-Chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi strongly condemned "illegal saboteurs" for their assault on the building.

The attack was aimed at local officials and security forces, he said, adding that the Asayish, also known as the Internal Security Forces, is “pursuing the perpetrators of the attack to arrest them and bring them to justice.”

The protest came as the KNC office was holding an event to mark Kurdistan Flag Day in several cities in the Kurdish regions of Syria.

Kurds in several parts of Kurdistan on Dec. 17 hoist the flag annually and engage in celebrations where the national anthem is played, and traditional Kurdish outfits are worn.

The KNC media office blamed the Revolutionary Youth Movement for the attack. Four people were reportedly injured, including Nizamedin Aliko, as protesters torched the building.

The incident came two days after tensions near the border between Syrian Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Region and the injury of a number of Kurdistan Region border guards on Wednesday after protestors assaulted the Faysh Khabur border crossing.

Read More: Syrian Kurdish opposition party blames PYD-affiliated group for attack on its office

On Dec 5, KNC also blamed a group allegedly affiliated to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) for attacking the office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, a party affiliated to the KNC, in Hasakah city on Dec 3.

The party at that time blamed the leadership of the SDF for failing to punish the perpetrators of such attacks on KNC offices and called on the US and humanitarian organizations to help stop them.

The KNC previously held several months of talks with its rival the PYNK (Kurdish National Unity Parties). The PYNK is affiliated with the PYD. The PYD is also the leading component of the political wing of the SDF, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC).

However, the talks have been suspended since the US Presidential elections in November 2020 and have not resumed yet amidst growing tensions between Kurdish parties in Syrian Kurdistan and the neighboring Kurdistan Region of Iraq.