• Country/entity

  Syria
  

• Region

  Middle East and North Africa
  

• Agreement name

  Agreement between National Front for Liberation and the Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS)

• Date

  6 Oct 2018

• 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

  Inter-group

• Peace process

  Syrian Local Agreements

• Parties

  Representative of the National Front Liberation
  Abu Al Bara’a Hasan Soufan
  [Signed]
  
  Representative of the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham
  Dr. Madhhar Luwais
  [Signed]

• Third parties

  -

• Description

  Four point agreement providing for (1) removal of armed presence from town; (2) release of prisoners; (3) for the courts to decide on civilian's rights; and (4) that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is responsible for persons killed and property taken during the last ceasefire violation.

• Agreement document

  SY_181007_Agreement between HTS and National Front_EN.pdf | Download PDF

• Agreement document (original language)

  SY_181007_Agreement between HTS and National Front_AR.pdf | Download PDF

Local agreement properties

• Process type

  Informal but persistent process
  

• Rationale

  -> Local issues only; no external support mechanism; culture of signing No formally established mechanism supported the negotiation between the two armed groups. 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 (especially Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) 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. The agreement is related to multiple local level processes in Idlib and Aleppo governorates in 2018.

• 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

  Kafr Halab, Mizanaz, Kafr Nuran

• Nature Of Locale

  Region

• GPS Lat/Long (DD)

  36.060710, 36.873517

• Participant type

  Local armed group
  

• Mediator, facilitator or similar

  No mention of mediator or similar

Local issues

Agreement between National Front for Liberation and the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

All praises be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet of Allah, his family, his companions, and his allies.

An agreement has been reached between the brothers in the National Front for Liberation and the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham with regards to the recent problem, and it is as follows:

- Removing the military manifestations and bringing back civilian life to its normal state in the areas of the conflict

- Immediately releasing all of the people who were detained, from either side, because of the most recent events and immediately searching for and apprehending those wanted by the law

- With regards to the civilians and their rights, these issues are referred to a judicial committee that is to be agreed upon within a week from the date of this statement

- Hayat Tahrir Al Sham’s guarantee for the most recent violation of the ceasefire that wasagreed upon, and it is responsible for the people killed and property taken

Representative of the National Front LiberationAbu Al Bara’a Hasan Soufan

[Signed]

Representative of the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham Dr. Madhhar Luwais

[Signed]

Date:

6/10/2018