ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The dead body of a Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) member was found on Monday in northeast Syria’s (Rojava) Hasaka province, a party representative said.
Ismail Fatah, a member of the ENKS General Secretariat, was found dead near the town of Tirbespi (al-Qahtaniyah) in Hasaka province, Jadan Ali, head of the ENKS representation to the Kurdistan Region, told Rudaw.
He had disappeared on Thursday while traveling from Girke Lege (al-Muabbada) to Qamishli city, according to Ali.
In a statement on Monday, Rojava’s security forces (Asayish) confirmed that Ismail’s body was found in Tirbespi.
An investigation has been launched into the incident.
The ENKS is an umbrella group of Kurdish opposition parties in Rojava. They have been in constant rivalry with the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) over influence.
Dozens of ENKS offices in northern Syria have come under attack in recent years, mostly by groups linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Its members have also been arrested, and the ruling authorities in Rojava have routinely put pressure on the group.
But recent calls for a united Kurdish front have eased tensions in Rojava, amid efforts to resume talks between feuding Kurdish parties.
Last month, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi met with a delegation from Rojava’s main opposition coalition, the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC), in the presence of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), to discuss Kurdish unity going forward.
ENKS and PYD signed a historic agreement, mediated by Masoud Barzani, in Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province in 2015 to end tensions and share power in Rojava, but the deal was never implemented. Each side blamed the other for its failure.
Updated at 2:30 pm with Asayish statement.
