Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement Agreement on Jabal Zawiyya

• Country/entity

  Syria
  
• Region

  Middle East and North Africa
  
• Agreement name

  Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement Agreement on Jabal Zawiyya
• Date

  26 Jul 2017
• 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

  Ahrar Al Sham
  Abu Al Saad
  [Signed]
  
  Hayat Tahrir Al Sham
  Abu Obaidah Al Shami
  [Signed]
• Third parties

  -
• Description

  3-point agreement providing for a release of detainees; withdrawal of military forces, checkpoints and ending the state of alert; ending all media escalations.

• Agreement document

  SY_170726_HTS and Ahrar al-Sham Agreement on Jabal Zaawiyya_EN.pdf | Download PDF
• Agreement document (original language)

  SY_170726_HTS and Ahrar al-Sham Agreement on Jabal Zaawiyya_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. The agreement is related to multiple local level processes in Idlib governorate in July 2017.
• 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. Yet, the agreement is related to multiple local level processes in and around Idlib in July 2017.
• Name of Locale

  Jabal Zawiyya
• Nature Of Locale

  Region
• GPS Lat/Long (DD)

  35.733345, 36.699925
• Participant type

  Local armed group
  
• Mediator, facilitator or similar

  No mention of mediator or similar

Local issues

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

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

This is what was agreed upon between the brothers in Hayat Tahrir Al Sham and Ahrar Al Sham in the area of Jabal Zaawiyya and others:

Releasing the detainees being held by both sides

Withdrawing all of the military forces, ending the state of alert, removing the barriers that were put up recently, and returning to the old barriers (Rawhiah Fork, Radar, and Al Saleeb)

Stopping all of the escalation and incitement in the media

We ask Allah to preserve the blood of the mujahideen and unite them.

Ahrar Al Sham

Abu Al Saad

[Signed]

Hayat Tahrir Al Sham

Abu Obaidah Al Shami

[Signed]

Written on 3 Dhul Qi’dah 1438 – 26 July 2017