Agreement between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Nour al-Din al-Zenki, Aleppo Countryside

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Country/entity: Syria
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Agreement between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Nour al-Din al-Zenki, Aleppo Countryside
Date: 16 Nov 2017
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Intrastate/local conflict
Syrian Conflicts (1948 - ) (1976 - 2005) (2011 - )
The agreements relate to three different conflict contexts. Israel-Syria and Syria-Lebanon. The Syrian-Israeli conflict was a key factor for the Syrian intervention during the Lebanese Civil War, with Syrian-backed Palestinian Liberation Army units intervened in 1976 against the Palestinian/Leftist militias. Following a massacre at Tel al-Zaatar that year, Syria was forced to accept a ceasefire at a meeting of the Arab League. However, the Arab League also mandated an Arab Deterrence Force, consisting of mostly Syrian soldiers with token contributions from other Arab League states, thus further legitimizing the Syrian presence in Lebanon. During a second bout of fighting that began in 1989, caused by the formation of rival Lebanese regimes in East and West Beirut, the Syrian-backed regime won and in 1991 the ‘Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation and Coordination’ was signed to legalize the Syrian occupation as a means to ensure the security of Syria. Syrian forces were forced to withdraw in 2005 following possible involvement in the assassination of Lebanon’s President Hariri.

Syria-internal. In 2011, domestic upheaval following a wave of protests across the Arab World soon led to violent repression of protestors by Syrian government troops. The violence progressed steadily and by July 2011 the Free Syrian Army (FSA) was formed consisting of defected military units and new recruits. The FSA and rebel umbrella group known as the Syrian National Council represented the first attempt at coordinating rebel factions in late 2011. However, a steady influx of foreign fighters and increased sectarianism radicalised opposition groups, which relied on foreign funding. The nature of the conflict changed drastically in late 2013 as infighting among the opposition groups increased. One of the more significant developments was the split between the al-Qaeda outfits the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS), and Jabhat al-Nusra in early 2014 in addition to the intensified targeting of other rebel factions by ISIS fighters in particular, including the Kurdish Peshmerga, the FSA and other jihadist outfits. Since the summer of 2014, the conflict was further internationalized when ISIS announced the formation of an Islamic state eroding the state line between Iraq and Syria and also in mid-2015 when Russian forces intervened on behalf of the Bashar al-Assad government in Damascus.
Stage: Ceasefire/related
Conflict nature: Inter-group
Peace process: Syrian Local Agreements
Parties: Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham [signed]
The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement [signed]
Third parties: Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Ahrar [role unspecified]
Mediators:
"Sheikh [illegible] and Sheikh Muslih Mohammed al-Uliya’"
Description: 5-point agreement providing for a ceasefire, opening of roads, removal of checkpoints, release of prisoners, formation of joint committee to work on unresolved issues; an end to media hostilities; and to form an operations room against the Syrian government.

Agreement document: SY_171116_Agreement between HTS and Nour al-Din al-Zenki, Aleppo countryside_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF
Agreement document (original language): SY_171116_Agreement between HTS and Nour al-Din al-Zenki, Aleppo countryside_AR.pdf (opens in new tab)| Download PDF

Groups

Children/youth: No specific mention.
Disabled persons: No specific mention.
Elderly/age: No specific mention.
Migrant workers: No specific mention.
Racial/ethnic/national group: No specific mention.
Religious groups: No specific mention.
Indigenous people: No specific mention.
Other groups: No specific mention.
Refugees/displaced persons: No specific mention.
Social class: No specific mention.

Gender

Women, girls and gender: No specific mention.
Men and boys: No specific mention.
LGBTI: No specific mention.
Family: No specific mention.

State definition

Nature of state (general): No specific mention.
State configuration: No specific mention.
Self determination: No specific mention.
Referendum: No specific mention.
State symbols: No specific mention.
Independence/secession: No specific mention.
Accession/unification: No specific mention.
Border delimitation: No specific mention.
Cross-border provision: No specific mention.

Governance

Political institutions (new or reformed): No specific mention.
Elections: No specific mention.
Electoral commission: No specific mention.
Political parties reform: No specific mention.
Civil society: No specific mention.
Traditional/religious leaders: No specific mention.
Public administration: No specific mention.
Constitution: No specific mention.

Power sharing

Political power sharing: No specific mention.
Territorial power sharing: No specific mention.
Economic power sharing: No specific mention.
Military power sharing: No specific mention.

Human rights and equality

Human rights/RoL general: No specific mention.
Bill of rights/similar: No specific mention.
Treaty incorporation: No specific mention.
Civil and political rights: No specific mention.
Socio-economic rights: No specific mention.

Rights related issues

Citizenship: No specific mention.
Democracy: No specific mention.
Detention procedures: No specific mention.
Media and communication: Rights related issues→Media and communication→Media roles
Page 1, 4. Stop all forms of media distortion by the Mujahidin and it is obligatory to call for [illegible] and to spread the spirit of the brothers of faith and religion among them all.
Mobility/access: Page 1, 1. Ceasefire, no rallies, removing checkpoints and opening the road.
Protection measures: No specific mention.
Other: No specific mention.

Rights institutions

NHRI: No specific mention.
Regional or international human rights institutions: No specific mention.

Justice sector reform

Criminal justice and emergency law: No specific mention.
State of emergency provisions: No specific mention.
Judiciary and courts: No specific mention.
Prisons and detention: No specific mention.
Traditional Laws: No specific mention.

Socio-economic reconstruction

Development or socio-economic reconstruction: No specific mention.
National economic plan: No specific mention.
Natural resources: No specific mention.
International funds: No specific mention.
Business: No specific mention.
Taxation: No specific mention.
Banks: No specific mention.

Land, property and environment

Land reform/rights: No specific mention.
Pastoralist/nomadism rights: No specific mention.
Cultural heritage: No specific mention.
Environment: No specific mention.
Water or riparian rights or access: No specific mention.

Security sector

Security Guarantees: Page 1, 1. Ceasefire, no rallies, removing checkpoints and opening the road.
Ceasefire: Security sector→Ceasefire→Ceasefire provision
Page 1, 1. Ceasefire, no rallies, removing checkpoints and opening the road.
Police: No specific mention.
Armed forces: No specific mention.
DDR: No specific mention.
Intelligence services: No specific mention.
Parastatal/rebel and opposition group forces: No specific mention.
Withdrawal of foreign forces: No specific mention.
Corruption: No specific mention.
Crime/organised crime: No specific mention.
Drugs: No specific mention.
Terrorism: No specific mention.

Transitional justice

Transitional justice general: No specific mention.
Amnesty/pardon: No specific mention.
Courts: No specific mention.
Mechanism: No specific mention.
Prisoner release: Page 1, 2. The release of the prisoners from all sides immediately.
Vetting: No specific mention.
Victims: No specific mention.
Missing persons: No specific mention.
Reparations: No specific mention.
Reconciliation: No specific mention.

Implementation

UN signatory: No specific mention.
Other international signatory: No specific mention.
Referendum for agreement: No specific mention.
International mission/force/similar: No specific mention.
Enforcement mechanism: Page 1, 3. The formation of a joint committee of the parties [on the] all the unresolved issues and work on the return of things to what it was before the conflict.
Related cases: No specific mention.
Source: Syrians for Truth and Justice. ‘Civilian Deaths in the Recent Military Confrontations in Western Aleppo Countryside’, December 10, 2017, https://web.archive.org/save/https://www.stj-sy.com/en/view/354

Fresh Syria (2017), An agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and al-Zanki to resolve differences between them, November 17, https://web.archive.org/save/https://fresh-syria.net/archives/7639

In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate

Agreement

[between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Nour al-Din al-Zenki, Aleppo Countryside] Praise be to God who said:

“Believers are but brothers” and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah who said:

“Muslims are brothers” his family and companions… but now:

On Thursday 16/11/2017- 27/2/1439, with the mediation of Sheikh [illegible] and Sheikh Muslih Mohammed al-Uliya’ a meeting was arranged by the brothers in Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Ahrar.

It was agreed upon below:

1. Ceasefire, no rallies, removing checkpoints and opening the road.

2. The release of the prisoners from all sides immediately.

3. The formation of a joint committee of the parties [on the] all the unresolved issues and work on the return of things to what it was before the conflict.

4. Stop all forms of media distortion by the Mujahidin and it is obligatory to call for [illegible] and to spread the spirit of the brothers of faith and religion among them all.

5. To strive to form a joint chamber of operations against the criminal regime and its allies.

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement

[Two signatures]