Attack on ENKS Office in Kobane Triggers Tension Between Kurdish Parties

Logo of Kurdish National Council (ENKS)
Logo of Kurdish National Council (ENKS)
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Attack on ENKS Office in Kobane Triggers Tension Between Kurdish Parties

Logo of Kurdish National Council (ENKS)
Logo of Kurdish National Council (ENKS)

The headquarters of the opposition Kurdish National Council (ENKS) in Kobane was attacked in the early hours of Tuesday, causing severe damage to the building and creating a state of terror in the neighborhood.

The council issued a statement accusing the Revolutionary Youth movement, affiliated with the Movement for a Democratic Society, of attacking the offices of the council in Ain al-Arab.

Head of the local council of ENKS Barkal Ahmed asserted that unknown gunmen threw two bombs at the building, then fired a round of bullets from machine guns. He noted that the attack damaged the building and shattered its windows.

The statement denounced “intimidating” actions, saying that this is not the first attack on its offices in Kurdish cities and towns.

The umbrella group of opposition parties, which includes 16 political parties as well as academic and social figures, accused the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) of being responsible for the attacks.

Remarkably, the Union Party is the ruling party in the regions east of the Euphrates and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava).

However, the Council asserted that the unity of the Kurdish position is a strategic issue, and these “shameful acts of terror will not deter us.”

“Those who commit those actions amid intra-Kurdish talks, between ENKS and Kurdish National Unity Parties (PYNK), are evil people who want to harm the unity of Kurds in Syrian Kurdistan."

The general coordinator of the Kurdish Reform Movement, Faisal Yusuf, indicated that the talks were not suspended because of unresolved issues, but because the US sponsor is engaged in other matters.

He noted that the negotiations aim to resolve differences that persisted after the Dohuk Agreement (2014).

Yusuf called for promoting confidence-building measures between the Kurdish parties in Syria, stressing that the unity of the Kurdish position in Syria was, and still is, a strategic choice.

“We are negotiating for a political unity guaranteeing a true partnership that expresses the interest of the Kurdish people in Syria.”

The outstanding contentious issues between the two major components of the Kurdish movement revolve around several issues, such as the demand to reveal the fate of 10 kidnapped politicians and eight members of the Kurdish Military Council.

The Kurdish interference constitutes a major obstacle to the talks, as the council leaders accuse the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of imposing its control over the Syrian Union Party, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the Kurdish Units.

The council also accuses the Party of working against any political partnership that may cancel its future role in the Kurdish-Syrian regions.

The council is ready to return to the US-sponsored negotiations with the unity parties and seeks a unified Kurdish position in the implementation of its political program.

Last October, unity talks stalled between Kurdish ruling and opposition parties after they moved to discuss more complex issues such as "protection, defense, and military forces" and the "Autonomous Administration partnership."



Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners

Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
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Israel Delays Release of Palestinian Prisoners

Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Family members waiting for the release of Palestinian prisoners follow developments Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after receiving news that Israel has delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Saturday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Israel said early Sunday the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners is delayed “until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies” at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza.

The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office came as military vehicles that normally move in advance of the buses carrying prisoners left the open gates of Ofer prison, only to turn around and go back in.

The release of 620 Palestinian prisoners had been delayed for several hours and was meant to occur just after six Israeli hostages were released on Saturday. It was meant to be the largest one-day prisoner release in the Gaza ceasefire’s first phase.

Israel’s announcement abruptly put the future of the truce into further doubt.
The Palestinian Authority’s commission for prisoners’ affairs confirmed the delay “until further notice.” Associated Press video in the West Bank showed prisoners’ families, waiting outdoors in near-freezing weather, apparently dispersing. One woman was shown walking away in tears.

Five of the six hostages freed Saturday had been escorted by masked, armed militants in front of a crowd — a display that the UN and Red Cross have criticized as cruel after previous handovers.
The Israeli statement cited “ceremonies that demean the dignity of our hostages and the cynical use of the hostages for propaganda purposes.” It was likely a reference to a Hamas video showing two hostages who have yet to be released watching a handover in Gaza on Saturday and speaking under duress.
The six were the last living hostages expected to be freed under the ceasefire's first phase, with a week remaining in the initial stage. Talks on the ceasefire’s second phase are yet to start.
The six included three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival and another taken while visiting family in southern Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the 16-month war in Gaza. The two others were held for a decade after entering Gaza on their own.
Five were handed over in staged ceremonies.

The 620 Palestinian prisoners meant to be freed include 151 serving life or other sentences for attacks against Israelis. Almost 100 would be deported, according to the Palestinian prisoners' media office.
A Palestinian prisoner rights association said they include Nael Barghouti, who spent over 45 years in prison for an attack that killed an Israeli bus driver.
Also meant to be released are 445 men, 23 children aged 15 to 19, and a woman, all seized by Israeli troops in Gaza without charge during the war.