Country/entity

Syria

Region

Middle East and North Africa

Agreement name

Agreement between the People’s Protection Units and Operation Room ‘Libtik Ya Ukhtahu’ regarding Sheikh Maqsud, Aleppo

Date

28 May 2015

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.

Close

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

Stage

Renewal

Conflict nature

Inter-group

Peace process

Syrian Local Agreements

Parties

People's Protection Units (YPG);
Operations Rooms 'Libtik Ya Ukhtahu' (consisting of Northern Front, Kurdish Front, Ahrar al-Sham, Abu Amara Brigades, 16th Legion, Descendants of the Sultans, Faylaq al-Sham, First Battalion, Jaysh al-Islam, Safwa Brigades, Nur al-Din al-Zanki Brigades)

Third parties

The Fastaqim Union
Farqa 16

Description

A re-negotiation agreement of the previous agreement on May 4, 2015. TPG agrees to withdraw its units mediated by third parties of Fastaqim Union and Farqa 16.

Agreement document

SY_150528_Agreement between YPG and Libtik ya Ukhtah_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Agreement document (original language)

SY_150528_Agreement between YPG and Libtik ya Ukhtah_AR.pdf (opens in new tab)| Download PDF

Local agreement properties

Process type

Formal structured process

Rationale

-> Local issues only; external support mechanism; culture of signing A formally-established mechanism apparently supported the negotiation between the signing groups, as the negotiation was mediated by two third parties. Moreover, this agreement cannot be linked to the national peace process. Indeed, both groups 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 the conflicts related to their armed struggle through agreements. This is the second agreement signed on this local matter.

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

Sheikh Maqsud

Nature of Locale

Smaller

GPS Lat/Long (DD)

36.237554, 37.153702

Participant type

Local armed group

Mediator, facilitator or similar

Mediator or similar referred to

Mediator (references)

The Fastaqim Union and Farqa 16

Type of mediator/facilitator/similar

Local armed group

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 grievances that arose from the non-respect of a previous agreement negotiated between the People’s Protection Units and Operation Room ‘Libtik Ya Ukhtahu’ on the question of a specific checkpoint.

Cattle rustling/banditry

No specific mention.

Social cover

No specific mention.