• Country/entity

  Syria
  

• Region

  Middle East and North Africa
  

• Agreement name

  Qamishlo Agreement

• Date

  22 Apr 2016

• Agreement status

  Multiparty signed/agreed

• Interim arrangement

  Yes

• Agreement/conflict level

  Intrastate/local conflict ( Syrian Conflicts (1948 - ) (1976 - 2005) (2011 - ) )

• Stage

  Ceasefire/related

• Conflict nature

  Government

• Peace process

  Intra-Syrian Process (state/non-state)

• Parties

  Rojava administration, Cizîr Canton Internal Affairs Council Co-President;
  The Ba’athist regime, Kenan Berekat;

• Third parties

  Elders of the area; Sheikhs of the clans

• Description

  Short ceasefire agreement between the Rojava Administration and the Syrian regime, providing for the dismantlement of the NDF paramilitary; an end to threats by the regime; release of prisoners; reparation for civilians; an end to interference by the regime in the town's affairs; an end to martial law; both sides keep the territory they currently own; the Rojava youth will not be forcibly drafted. Agreement does not contain an explicit cessation of hostilities clause, but this is implicated from the other areas of agreement.

• Agreement document

  SY_160424_Qamsihlo Agreement.pdf | Download PDF

Local agreement properties

• Process type

  Isolated example
  

• Rationale

  -> Local issues only; no external support mechanism; no culture of signing It seems that no formally established mechanism supported the negotiation. The agreement is circumscribed to a specific event, which is the three-day urban battle between the paramilitary police of the Asayish and the pro-government National Defence Forces in Qashmili. This is the first agreement of its kind signed between the two parties; the Kurdish leadership has always been very reluctant to make peace with the government forces before. There is thus no culture of peace agreement in this instance.

• Is there a documented link to a national peace process?

  No

• Link to national process: articulated rationale

  It seems complicated to link this agreement with the national peace process, although it involves the Syrian government. During a peace conference that announced the agreement, Berekat, the representative of the Kurdish Democratic Self-Administration emphasised that the Kurdish administration would not accept any system in Rojava other than Democratic Autonomy.

• Name of Locale

  Qamsihlo [Qamishli]

• Nature Of Locale

  City

• GPS Lat/Long (DD)

  37.051975, 41.230019

• Participant type

  Central state actor
  Local state actor
  Domestic religious organisation/leader or other elder
  

• Mediator, facilitator or similar

  Mediator or similar referred to

  Mediator (references)

  A follow-up statement released by one of the parties mentions that the ceasefire was reached "after the involvement of elders of the area and the sheikhs of the clans".

  Type of mediator/facilitator/similar

  Domestic religious organisation/leader or other elder

Local issues

Qamsihlo Agreement

Clauses of the agreement reached by the Rojava administration and the Ba’athist regime:

Both sides will abide to the ceasefire

The paramilitary NDF affiliated with the regime will be reviewed and later dismantled

The regime will not force public officials to take up arms and will not threaten them with dismissal or pay cuts

Both sides to release those taken captive

Material help to civilians who were affected by the attacks on the neighborhoods, in addition to compensation to families of killed civilians.

Regime forces will not interfere with people’s internal affairs

End to martial law in town

All forces keep the areas they now have

Youth from Rojava is not to be forced into military service in SAA.

Cizîr Canton Internal Affairs Council Co-President

Kenan Berekat Syrian Government