Agreement between Ahrar al-Sham (AAS) and Farqa 13

Country/entity
Syria
Region
Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name
Agreement between Ahrar al-Sham (AAS) and Farqa 13
Date
22 May 2016
Agreement status
Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement
Yes
Agreement/conflict level
Intrastate/local conflict
Stage
Ceasefire/related
Conflict nature
Inter-group
Peace process
Syrian Local Agreements
Parties
Jabhat al-Nusra [illegible]
Al-Farqa 13 [illegible]
Third parties
Witness one  [illegible]
Witness two  [illegible]
Description
Short ceasefire agreement, prohibiting attacks on each other's held areas, an end to provocations over social media, and the understanding that Sheikh Ahmed 'Alwan's comments are personal and not on behalf of Farqa 13.

Local agreement properties

Process type
Isolated example
Rationale
-> Local issues only; no external support mechanism; no culture of signing An agreement signed between a Salafi-Jihad group and a nationalist Syrian group is quite rare in the Syrian context due to the ideological divide. It is not possible to point to a culture of signing agreements to solve recurring issues between the two groups.
Is there a documented link to a national peace process?
No
Link to national process: articulated rationale
No link to the national peace process in Syria is mentioned in the agreement, neither it can be inferred from further research. First, the agreement does not involve local governance actors; and the signing parties themselves are not official state representative. Second, all parties to the agreement reject the national peace process, as it would maintain Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government in power.
Name of Locale
NA
Nature of Locale
City
GPS Lat/Long (DD)
35.647738, 36.679187
Participant type
Local armed group
Mediator, facilitator or similar
No mention of mediator or similar

Local issues

Ritual/prayer and process (including use of scripture)
Page 1, In the name of Allah the Merciful

Page 1, By the presence and approval of Allah, Jabhat al-Nusra and al-Farqa 13 have agreed to represent the two sides by pledging the following.
Grievance List
Although the agreement does not refer to specific causes of the conflict, it lists three provisions to address local grievances.

Page 1,
Firstly: There will be no attacks on the headquarters or people until the ruling of the unison committee is released and concluded.
Secondly: There will be a cease of provocations on social media such as Twitter and [similar platforms] and of protests and [similar actions] on the ground until the ruling of the unison committee is released and concluded.
Thirdly: The remarks of Sheikh Ahmed ‘Alwan are considered personal remarks that he is responsible for, and al-Farqa 13 do not take the consequences of these.
Cattle rustling/banditry

No specific mention.

Social cover

No specific mention.

Source agreement

Agreement text between Jabhat al-Nusra [The Victory Front] and al-Farqa 13 [Brigade 13]

By the presence and approval of Allah, Jabhat al-Nusra and al-Farqa 13 have agreed to represent the two sides by pledging the following:

Firstly:

There will be no attacks on the headquarters or people until the ruling of the unison committee is released and concluded.

Secondly:

There will be a cease of provocations on social media such as Twitter and [similar platforms] and of protests and [similar actions] on the ground until the ruling of the unison committee is released and concluded.

Thirdly:

The remarks of Sheikh Ahmed ‘Alwan are considered personal remarks that he is responsible for, and al-Farqa 13 do not take the consequences of these.

Jabhat al-Nusra [illegible]

Al-Farqa 13 [illegible]

Witness one [illegible]

Witness two [illegible]