Relations among Syrian Kurdish parties hit new low
The Kurdistan National Council (KNC) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) are in dispute over power-sharing arrangements.
On Feb. 2, one of the main Syrian Kurdish groups, the Kurdish National Council (KNC), decided to expel its members who support the Democratic Union Party's (PYD) plan to form local administrations with 22 ministries, each in three different Kurdish enclaves in Syria. This has led to tensions between the two Kurdish blocs over power.
The PYD has managed to convince some KNC members to join the administrations formed by the PYD, angering the leadership of the KNC that backs the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of President Massoud Barzani. The Barzani-backed parties fear it could give more legitimacy to the administration, which they have called unilateral and authoritarian and allied to the Syrian government.
