PYD abducts scores of Syrian-Kurd politicians: Report

By Idris Okuducu

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) - The PYD, the PKK terrorist group’s Syrian affiliate, has abducted 68 members of the Syrian Kurdish National Council (KNC) since 2011, according to a report released Friday by the KNC.

Entitled "PYD rights violations from 2011 to 2017", the report details the terrorist group’s systematic abduction of politicians affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria and the Democratic Union Party, both of which operate under the KNC umbrella.

According to the report, some abducted politicians are being held in PYD-controlled areas of northern Syria, while the fate of others remains unknown.

The PYD has also maintained its policy of pressing minors -- boys and girls under 18 years old -- into military service, the report asserts.

The report also notes that the terrorist group has prevented the Erbil-based Rudaw media network from operating in northern Syria since mid-2015.

Comprised of 11 Kurdish political parties, all of which are opposed to the PYD, the KNC has 6,000 Syrian Peshmerga fighters at its command who were trained by northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government.