The co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), Ilham Ahmed, stated that the incidents of setting fire to the Kurdish National Council offices in Syria are not endorsed by the Autonomous Administration, and demanded accountability for those behind them.
Speaking to North Press Agency on Thursday, April 26, Ahmed said that such attacks have no connection to the Autonomous Administration, but as long as they occur and recur, the Administration and its relevant institutions are responsible for investigating such incidents, holding the perpetrators accountable, and bringing them to justice.
Ahmed emphasized that publicly holding the perpetrators accountable is necessary for transparency in institutional work and creates “convergence between them and the citizens.”
Regarding accusations directed at the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Ahmed stated that accusing the Autonomous Administration is unrealistic and lacks objectivity, noting that it strives to maintain security and stability in the region and does not discriminate between parties, but rather everyone benefits from its services.
She added that there is no decision or behavior aimed at burning the party offices, and she called on the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) to take responsibility for these incidents and put an end to them.
Ahmed also called on the Unity Party to cooperate with Asayish to uncover the circumstances of the incident.
Meanwhile, Asayish reported that unknown individuals set fire at dawn on Wednesday to two headquarters of the Kurdish National Council in the city of Qamishli, causing material damage without any human injuries, noting that their forces had begun investigating the incident.
Ilham Ahmed’s comment, the former co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council (MSD), came hours after the United States condemned the attack on the offices of the Kurdish political parties under the umbrella of the National Council.
The US Embassy in Syria stated via “X” on Thursday that attacks on the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and other political parties in Qamishli must stop.
It called on all parties to engage in “meaningful discourse” to achieve the aspirations of the Syrian people without violence.
The National Council stated on Wednesday that gunmen affiliated with the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) attacked headquarters of political parties within its components in the city of Qamishli, northern al-Hasakah province, burning them along with furniture and equipment, and also attempted to burn its office in the town of Qahtaniyah, east of al-Hasakah.
The Democratic Union Party forms the backbone of the Autonomous Administration, as well as its military wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which are the core of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) supported by the United States in northeastern Syria.
Attacks by groups close to PYD on the offices of the Kurdish National Council and the political parties under it are recurrent, and the Council always accuses the Revolutionary Youth groups of being behind these attacks.
Kurdish parties, including the National Council and the Democratic Union, primarily convene within a framework known as “Kurdish-Kurdish Dialogue,” which started its first rounds in November 2019, to address the differences between the mentioned parties.
While the United States and European countries support the SDF, aligned with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the principal opposing party, the Kurdish National Council, receives support from Erbil and Turkey and is a member of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (Syrian National Coalition).