ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Those who disrespect the Kurdish flag and torture Kurdish youth will “pay for their crimes,” said Kurdish President Masoud Barzani, after reports of such incidents emerged from Rojava, northern Syria.

Barzani’s statement addressed the people of Amuda, Rojava in general, where the reported incidents allegedly occurred, and thanked them for their “patriotism” and spirit of the Kurdish struggle.

Mohamad Shwesh, general-secretary of the Syrian Kurdish National Council (KNC), in an interview with Rudaw on Friday claimed that supporters of the ruling Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Asayesh security forces in Amuda attacked the KNC building in the city, destroyed their facilities, and then burned the Kurdish flag.

The flag of the Kurdistan Region, widely regarded by many Kurds around the world as the flag of the future state of Kurdistan, was the one reportedly burned in Amuda. The Rojava administration has adopted a different flag.

Also on Friday, opposition demonstrators in Qamishli demanding the release of their imprisoned members clashed with supporters of the PYD. Some opposition protesters and PYD supporters got involved in fistfights, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The Rojava Asayesh have arrested 30 KNC leaders and expelled tens of its members to the Kurdistan Region.

PYD supporters allegedly also raided the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (Syria) and the Kurdish Union Party, smashing their office equipment, according to the Observatory.

“Those who burn the Kurdistan flag, torture the Kurdish youths will be humiliated, and they will inevitably pay for their crimes,” Barzani stated on Saturday.