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

• 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 - ) )
• 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 | Download PDF
• Agreement document (original language)

  SY_181127_Babulin Checkpoint Agreement, Idlib Countryside_AR.pdf | 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

Babulin Checkpoint Agreement between Hayat Tahrir Al Sham and the Ahrar al-Sham, Idlib Countryside

27 November 2018

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

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

Based on the meeting between the two sides, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham and the Syrian Liberation Front (Ahrar Al Sham), on 25/11/2018, a meeting was held today on Monday, 26/11/2018, to decide on the issue of the Babulin Checkpoint.

The two sides have agreed to task a committee made up of the people of the area to listen to the testimonies of both sides and the testimonies of witnesses.

The committee has decided the following:

First:

It has been proven that the control of the checkpoint belongs to the Syrian Liberation Front (Ahrar Al Sham).

Second:

As a result of the violations that are taking place around the checkpoint [ILLEGIBLE] that harm the security in the area, the responsibility of these violations is on the checkpoint itself because these individuals are from the same group that controls the checkpoint.

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 Haish Fork, no matter who they are.

This is what we have been able to reach, with the guidance of Allah.

May Allah guide us, and any mistake is only from us.

Allah knows all, and we do not, and Allah is most gracious and most merciful.

The committee tasked with solving the problem:

Khalid Saloum [Signed]

Ahmad Ismael [Signed]

Khalil Al Abdullah [Signed]

Saleh Al Saloum [Signed]

Khalid Al Faris [Signed]

Hayat Tahrir Al Sham

Represented by:

Abu Yasser Al Raubish

[Signed]

Syrian Liberation Front

Represented by:

Waleed Salman

[Signed]

Guarantor:

Al Sham Legion

Represented by:

Abu Shadi Habash [Signed]