Country/entity

Syria

Region

Middle East and North Africa

Agreement name

Babulin Checkpoint Agreement between Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS) and the Ahrar al-Sham (AAS), Idlib Countryside

Date

27 Nov 2018

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

Pre-negotiation/process

Conflict nature

Inter-group

Peace process

Syrian Local Agreements

Parties

Hayat Tahrir Al Sham
Represented by:
Abu Yasser Al Raubish
[Signed] Syrian Liberation Front
Represented by:
Waleed Salman
[Signed]

Third parties

Guarantor: Al Sham Legion
Represented by:
Abu Shadi Habash [Signed]

Description

Four-point Agreement seeking to solve the issue of the Babulin Checkpoint by providing for (1) affirmation of checkpoint control by Ahrar al-Sham; (2) that violations were committed by Ahrar al-Sham; (3) that the committee decided that checkpoint control by that group be removed for 60 days; (4) that no group may set up a checkpoint on the Main Haysh Fork. The agreement further confirms the members of the committee tasked with solving the problem.

Agreement document

SY_181127_Babulin Checkpoint Agreement, Idlib Countryside_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Agreement document (original language)

SY_181127_Babulin Checkpoint Agreement, Idlib Countryside_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 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 (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 governorate 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. Finally, the agreement should be understood in the context of an “intra-religious insurgent groups” conflict where several factions that all oppose Bashar al-Assad engaged in fighting and took some distance from their initial raison d’être in the context of the Syrian civil war.

Name of Locale

Babulin Checkpoint

Nature of Locale

Smaller

GPS Lat/Long (DD)

35.540119, 36.660143

Participant type

Local armed group

Mediator, facilitator or similar

Mediator or similar referred to

Mediator (references)

Committee made up of locals (they are nominated as Khalid Saloum, Ahmad Ismael, Khalil Al Abdullah, Saleh Al Saloum and Khalid Al Faris)

Type of mediator/facilitator/similar

Local community/civilian group(s)/civil society organisations

Local issues

Ritual/prayer and process (including use of scripture)

Page 1, In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Page 1, All praises be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet, Muhammad, and his family and companions.

Grievance List

Although the agreement does not refer to specific causes of the conflict, it lists three provisions to address local grievances.

Page 1, The committee has decided the following:
First: It has been proven that the control of the checkpoint belongs to the Syrian Liberation Front (Jabhat Tahrir Suriyya).
[...]
Third: The committee has decided to remove this checkpoint in coordination with the command of the group during a period of 60 days (two months).
Fourth: No group has the right to establish any checkpoint on the Main Haysh Fork, no matter who they are.

Cattle rustling/banditry

No specific mention.

Social cover

No specific mention.