Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Positive Response to initiative
Country/entity
SyriaRegion
Middle East and North AfricaAgreement name
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Positive Response to initiativeDate
19 Jul 2017Agreement status
Unilateral documentInterim arrangement
YesAgreement/conflict level
Intrastate/local conflict ()Stage
Ceasefire/relatedConflict nature
Inter-groupPeace process
Syrian Local AgreementsParties
Harikat Tahrir al-Sham; Harikat Ahrar al-Sham.Third parties
-Description
Statement issued as part of a sequence of statements responding to an initiative to end the ongoing conflict between Harikat Tahrir al-Sham and Harikat Ahrar al-Sham in Idlib. Statement commits to ceasefire in response to focusing energy elsewhere.
Agreement document
Agreement document (original language)
Local agreement properties
Process type
Informal but persistent processRationale
-> Local issues only; no external support mechanism; culture of signing There is no formally established mechanism to support the negotiation between Salafi armed groups. Moreover, this agreement cannot be linked to the national peace process. Indeed, both groups have a Salafist ideology; they oppose the rule of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and reject the idea of a national negotiation to solve the conflict. Yet, it seems that both signing parties choose to solve daily pragmatic issues related to their armed struggle through agreements. Although one cannot speak of a “culture” of singing peace agreements, the parties are involved (in a non-proactive and non-conscious way) in a persistent practice of signing local agreements.Is there a documented link to a national peace process?
NoLink 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. Yet, the agreement is related to multiple local level processes in Idlib governorate in July 2017. The agreement was signed for the purpose of "preserv[ing] remaining energies and land to fight our enemies."Name of Locale
NANature Of Locale
RegionGPS Lat/Long (DD)
35.731782, 36.708680Participant type
Local armed groupMediator, facilitator or similar
Mediator or similar referred toMediator (references)
The initiative of the mediation was launched by three clerics: Sheikh Abu Mohammed al-Sadiq, Sheikh Abdul Razzaq al-Mahdi, and Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Masri.Type of mediator/facilitator/similar
Domestic religious organisation/leader or other elder
Local issues
- Ritual/prayer and process (including use of scripture)Page 1, In the name of Allah, the Beneficial, the Merciful
Page 1, “So fear Allah, and keep straight the relations between yourselves: Obey Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe” - Grievance ListThe agreement addresses the grievances of two Salafi-jihadi groups that lost a number of men during clashes for the control of villages in Idlib governorate.
- Cattle rustling/banditry
No specific mention.
- Social cover
No specific mention.
Harikat Tahrir al-Sham Response to Pre-Negotiation Agreement, 19 July 2017
In the name of Allah, the Beneficial, the Merciful
“So fear Allah, and keep straight the relations between yourselves:
Obey Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe”1
Due to the incidents of killing and blood shed between our brothers in Harikat Ahrar al-Sham and Tahrir al-Sham that grieve the heart and destroy it.
At this critical stage we need to preserve remaining energies and land to fight our enemies. [
Thus], we celebrate and agree to this good initiative which has helped resolve our dispute.
We call on our brothers in Tahrir al-Sham and Harikat Ahrar al-Sham to end the fighting between them, arbitrate [according to] the law of Allah, and respond to the good initiative that has launched a virtuous project.
Tawfiq Shahab al-Din