Kurdish opposition member kidnapped in Syrian Kurdistan
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Kurdish Future Movement Party member in Syria was abducted by an unknown group in al-Darbasiyah (Dirbêsiyê in Kurdish) in the country’s northeastern Hasakah province.
The party has accused the Democratic Union Party (PYD) of kidnapping him.
"Democratic Union Party (PYD) militants abducted Abdulrahim Teme, a member of the Future Movement's Foreign Relations Office and a member of the KNC Dirbêsiyê branch, in the village of Til Xezal," the Future Movement's foreign relations office said.
The Future Movement Party is a member of the Kurdish National Council (KNC), a rival of the PYD-led authorities in northeast Syria. It demanded Teme's immediate release and the release of all the 'political prisoners' in northeast Syria. It also called for an end to violations against the party, its leaders, and supporters of the KNC.
Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, KNC members have been kidnapped, intimidated, and assassinated. Moreover, KNC offices have been targeted and even burned.
On Dec. 17, protesters torched the KNC office in the Syrian Kurdish town of al-Darbasiyah (Dirbêsiyê), where KNC members were holding celebrations for Kurdistan Flag Day.
Commander-in-Chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi strongly condemned "illegal saboteurs" for their assault on the building.
Two days later, a number of Kurdistan Region border guards were injured after protestors assaulted the Faysh Khabur border crossing. In response, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) closed the crossing.
Last Thursday, temporary Syrian residents in the Kurdistan Region were allowed to return to Syria through Faysh Khabur.
Also, on Friday, 36 foreigners working with humanitarian organizations were allowed to go to northeast Syria through the al-Walid border crossing, North Press reported.
The KNC has previously blamed the SDF leadership for failing to punish the perpetrators of such attacks on the KNC 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. They have not resumed yet amidst growing tensions between Kurdish parties in Syrian Kurdistan and the neighboring Kurdistan Region of Iraq.