Authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) released two detained members of the main opposition coalition, the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC), on Thursday, signaling a potential breakthrough in efforts to resume long-stalled intra-Kurdish talks.

Ramazan Haji, jailed since July 29 last year, and Kamiran Abdi, detained on October 9, were released by local security forces. Sulaiman Oso, an ENKS leader, welcomed the releases, describing them as a “positive” step toward fostering dialogue but emphasized the need for further action.

“Haji is an elderly man whose only ‘crime’ was being the father of two Peshmerga fighters. Both he and Abdi were innocent,” Oso told Rudaw English. He criticized the arrests as a means of intimidation and called for the release of all ENKS prisoners as a precondition for resuming unity talks with Rojava’s ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD).

The Roj Peshmerga, a Syrian Kurdish force trained and supported by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, was created to protect Rojava but has not been allowed to enter the area.

Intra-Kurdish negotiations initially began in Duhok a decade ago, resulting in an agreement that remains unimplemented. Briefly revived in late 2019, talks between the ENKS and the Kurdish National Unity Parties (PYNK), a coalition of 24 parties aligned with the PYD, stalled due to ongoing disagreements.

The recent collapse of the Syrian regime and escalating threats from Turkey have reignited efforts to unify Syrian Kurdish factions. The PYNK has expressed readiness to return to the negotiating table, hoping to secure stability and a brighter future for the region.

Oso warned that meaningful progress would depend on the unconditional release of all political prisoners, urging Rojava’s authorities to act decisively to pave the way for renewed dialogue.