Agreement between Ahrar al-Sham (AAS) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on the al-Alawin checkpoint issue, Jisr al-Shughur

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Country/entity: Syria
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Agreement between Ahrar al-Sham (AAS) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on the al-Alawin checkpoint issue, Jisr al-Shughur
Date: 15 Jun 2017
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.
Stage: Pre-negotiation/process
Conflict nature: Inter-group
Peace process: Syrian Local Agreements
Parties: Ahrar al-Sham Movement, signed by Abu al-Baha’ Wustani
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, signed by Abu al-Bara al-Kastan
Third parties: Jaysh al-Fatah Court is named as the mediating party.
Description: 3-point agreement on the issue of the al-Alawin checkpoint wherein a fighter from Ahrar al-Sham was killed. Agreement states that HTS will hand over the killer; that the case is referred to Jaysh al-Fatah court; and that the court will also decide on the matter of the checkpoint, which is temporarily handed over to Ahrar al-Sham.

Agreement document: SY_170715_Agreement Ahrar al-Sham and HTS checkpoint issue in Al-Alawin, Jisr al-Shughur_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF
Agreement document (original language): SY_170715_Agreement Ahrar al-Sham and HTS checkpoint issue in Al-Alawin, Jisr al-Shughur_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 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?: 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. 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 and around Idlib during summer 2017.
Name of Locale: al-Alawin
Nature of Locale: Smaller
GPS Lat/Long (DD): 35.812735, 36.312182
Participant type: Local armed group
Mediator, facilitator or similar: Mediator or similar referred to
Mediator (references): Jaysh al-Fatah Court
Type of mediator/facilitator/similar: Local armed group

Local issues

Ritual/prayer and process (including use of scripture): Page 1, In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate

Page 1, Praise be to God and prayer and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Grievance List: The agreement addresses the grievances that arose from the construction of a barrier by Tahrir al-Sham on a territory controlled by Ahrar al-Sham. The dispute resulted in the death of one man in the ranks of Ahrar al-Sham.
Cattle rustling/banditry: No specific mention.
Social cover: No specific mention.

In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate

Praise be to God and prayer and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.

The two sides Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Ahrar al-Sham – on the problem of a dispute caused by the construction of a barrier in the area of al-Alawin by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that killed one of the brothers from Ahrar al-Sham – agreed on the following:

1. The murderer is immediately handed over to the Executive Force of the Jaysh al-Fatah.

2. The case is referred to the Jaysh al-Fatah court to decide on the murder.

3. The barrier will remain in the hands of Ahrar al-Sham until the Jaysh al-Fath court makes a decision.

Ahrar al-Sham Movement

Abu al-Baha’ Wustani

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

Abu al-Bara al-Kastan

Release Date:

15/06/2017

Approved:

15/06/2017

Agreement between Ahrar al-Sham (AAS) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on the al-Alawin checkpoint issue, Jisr al-Shughur

Local agreement properties

Local issues

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