HTS declaration
Country/entity
SyriaRegion
Middle East and North AfricaAgreement name
HTS declarationDate
23 Jul 2017Agreement status
Multiparty signed/agreedInterim arrangement
YesAgreement/conflict level
Intrastate/local conflict ()Stage
Framework/substantive - partialConflict nature
Inter-groupPeace process
Syrian Local AgreementsParties
The first party: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham represented by brother Abu Obeida al- ‘Askari
he second party: Ahrar al-Sham movement represented by brother Muhammad FareedThird parties
The first witness Sheikh Ahmed Al Khaled The second witness Safwan al-Hasan The third witness Sheikh Ibrahim al- ‘Awadh Abu SuleimanDescription
-
Agreement document
Agreement document (original language)
Local agreement properties
Process type
Informal but persistent processRationale
-> 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. The text mentions that the agreement solves "the internal fighting between the brothers" of HTS and HAS. 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 in Idlib governorate in July 2017.Is there a documented link to a national peace process?
NoLink 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 Idlib governorate in July 2017.Name of Locale
Mount ShashaboNature Of Locale
RegionGPS Lat/Long (DD)
35.562845, 36.444781Participant type
Local armed group
Domestic religious organisation/leader or other elderMediator, facilitator or similar
Mediator or similar referred toMediator (references)
The agreement was signed in the presence of the elders of Mount Shashabo represented by: - Sheikh Ahmed al-Khaled Abu Majed - Safwan Ismaeel al-Hasan - Amr Muhammad al-Jasem - Abdul Fattah al-Ahmad - Mahmoud al-Obeid al-Aleiwi - Nuri Hasan al-OthmanType of mediator/facilitator/similar
Domestic religious organisation/leader or other elder
Local issues
- Ritual/prayer and process (including use of scripture)Page 1, In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Page 1, Done and praise to Allah [...] - Grievance ListThe agreement addresses the local grievances that arose from the clashes between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham in Mount Shashabo. It seems that the handover of Ahrar al-Sham's headquarters to the civil population was a main point of contention.
- Cattle rustling/banditry
No specific mention.
- Social cover
No specific mention.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Done and praise to Allah and in the presence of all of the elderly [elders] people of Mount Shamshabo represented by
1. Sheikh Ahmed al-Khaled Abu Majed
2. Safwan Ismaeel al-Hasan
3. Amr Muhammad al-Jasem
4. Abdul Fattah al-Ahmad
5. Mahmoud al-Obeid al-Aleiwi
6. Nuri Hasan al-Othman
-Neutralize Mount Shamshabo starting from the village of Felfil in the north to the village of al- ‘Arima in the south.
[discussion] about 1.
The internal fighting between the brothers in the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham [Organization for the Liberation of the Levant] and the brothers in the Ahrar al- Sham [full name is Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya, translate into English as the Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant]
2. Handover Rasha headquarter of Ahrar al-Sham Movement to brother Safwan al-Hasan and Abdul Fattah al-Ahmad as they are people of the land [the owners of the land]
The first party The second party Hayat Tahrir al-Sham represented by brother Ahrar al- Sham movement represented by brother Abu Obeida al- ‘Askari Muhammad Fareed
[Signature] [Signature]
The first witness The second witness The third witnes Sheikh Ahmed Al Khaled Safwan al-Hasan Sheikh Ibrahim al- ‘Awadh Abu Suleiman
[Signature] [Signature] [Signature]