• 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 - ) )

• 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 | Download PDF

• Agreement document (original language)

  SY_170715_Agreement Ahrar al-Sham and HTS checkpoint issue in Al-Alawin, Jisr al-Shughur_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 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

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