YPG kidnaps Kurdish critics in Syria

The PKK terrorist group's Syrian affiliate People's Protection Units (YPG) kidnapped two members of the National Council of Syrian Kurds (ENKS) last week after the group was driven from Syria's northwestern city of Afrin in Turkey's Operation Olive Branch.

In a statement Monday, the ENKS said Faisal Yousef, the general coordinator of the Kurdish Reform Movement, and Nimat Dawud, the chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Equality Party in Syria, had been kidnapped from their homes last week by the YPG. The ENKS is known for its criticism of the PKK and the YPG in Syria.

The ENKS condemned the move and called on the terrorist group to release its members. "The YPG and PKK are trying to cover up its failure in Afrin," the ENKS said, calling on the Kurdish people and political groups to apply pressure on the YPG and PKK.

The YPG had earlier issued arrest warrants for two senior officials of the ENKS, İbrahim Biro and Fuad Aliko, due to their roles in the establishment of the local council in Afrin. In 2016, the YPG abducted Biro, the former chairman of the ENKS, in the city center of al-Qamishli, before forcing him to leave the country and threatening to "cut him into pieces" if he returned. The Democratic Union Party's (PYD) oppression of rival political voices, including burning down their offices and arresting or kidnapping members has been voiced as a concern by many Kurds in northern Syria. Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen civilian representatives established an interim local council in Syria's Afrin last Thursday to provide local services.