Country/entity

Syria

Region

Middle East and North Africa

Agreement name

Follow up on the implementation of the Previous Agreement in al-Waer, Homs

Date

31 Aug 2016

Agreement status

Unilateral document

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.

Close

Syrian Conflicts (1948 - ) (1976 - 2005) (2011 - )

Stage

Ceasefire/related

Conflict nature

Government

Peace process

Intra-Syrian Process (state/non-state)

Parties

Syrian government

Third parties

-

Description

Ceasefire agreement in return for the withdrawal of opposition fighters from al-Waer, Damascus. Agreement calls for goods to enter into the neighbourhood; prisoner release; the entrance of police and Syrian regime security into the neighbourhood to re-open the office of population record and environment; allow civilians to return home; and the withdrawal of opposition fighters with their families and light weapons in four rounds.

Agreement document

SY_160831_Follow up on the implementation of the Previous Agr. in al-Waer_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Agreement document (original language)

SY_160831_Follow up on the implementation of the Previous Agr. in al-Waer_AR.pdf (opens in new tab)| Download PDF

Local agreement properties

Process type

Informal but persistent process

Rationale

-> Local issues only; no external support mechanism; culture of signing There is no formally established mechanism to support the negotiation between rebel armed groups and the Syrian government. Yet, the struggle between those two parties lies at the centre of the Syrian conflict and has been a recurring point of contention ever since 2011. Moreover, it seems that the Syrian government agreed to manage its conflict with opposition groups through peace agreements, especially in main cities such as Homs. This is mainly the result of local and international pressure to limit the use of violent mean and protect civilians. Hence, one could argue that this agreement has been signed in the framework of a repeated process - although one cannot speak of a 'culture" of signing peace agreements.

Is there a documented link to a national peace process?

Yes

Link to national process: articulated rationale

No link to the national peace process in Syria is mentioned in the agreement, but it can be inferred from further research. The agreement is an unilateral declaration made by representatives of the Syrian government to regain control over al-Waer neighbourhood.

Name of Locale

al-Waer neighbourhood

Nature of Locale

Smaller

GPS Lat/Long (DD)

34.743349, 36.674552

Participant type

Central state actor

Mediator, facilitator or similar

No mention of mediator or similar

Local issues

Ritual/prayer and process (including use of scripture)

No specific mention.

Grievance List

Although the agreement does not refer to specific causes of the conflict, it seems that it addresses the grievances that arose from clashes in the neighbourhood of al-Waer, which resulted in a number of detainees and disappeared, interrupted supplies and militarisation.

Cattle rustling/banditry

No specific mention.

Social cover

No specific mention.