Agreement between al-Nusra Front and factions of the armed opposition in Hafsarja

  • Country/entity
    Syria
  • Region
    Middle East and North Africa
  • Agreement name
    Agreement between al-Nusra Front and factions of the armed opposition in Hafsarja
  • Date
    19 Jul 2014
  • 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
    Yaqoob al-Omar (Jabhat al-Nusra)
    Muhammad Izzedine Khattab (Syria Revolutionaries Front)
    Abdullah Al-Muhaisni (independent)
    Yassin Alloush (Independent)
    Abdel Mon’im Zaid Eddin (Independent)
  • Third parties
    -
  • Description
    Five-point agreement where parties agree to form a independant Shariah committee of notables to resolve the ongoing conflict in Idlib between Jabhat al-Nusra and some of the Free Syrian Army factions.

Local agreement properties

  • Process type
    Informal but persistent process
  • Rationale
    -> Local issues only; external support mechanism; no culture of signing It is only the second case of a written agreement signed between a Salafi-jihadi group and a secular FSA factions (the other on 11/10/14). Moreover, sources state that the agreement relates to specific issues that arose in a highly localised context.
  • 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. The agreement does not involve local governance actors, and the signing parties themselves are not official state representative.
  • Name of Locale
    Hafsarja
  • Nature Of Locale
    Smaller
  • GPS Lat/Long (DD)
    36.018454, 36.528940
  • Participant type
    Local armed group
    Domestic religious organisation/leader or other elder
    Local community/civilian group(s)/civil society organisations
  • Mediator, facilitator or similar
    No mention of mediator or similar

Local issues

  • Ritual/prayer and process (including use of scripture)
    Page 1, In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
    Praise be to God and prayers and peace be upon the most honorable of the Prophets, Muhammad and upon all his family and companions, and after:

    Page 1, And that all parties are committed to implementing all rulings and decisions issued by this committee, praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.
  • Grievance List
    The agreement relates the grievances that arose from a ten day conflict between Jabhat al-Nusra and several Free Syrian Army faction in Idlib governorate. The agreement does not directly addresses those grievances but establishes a formal mechanism to resolve the dispute. According to sources, clashes erupted after the killing of two al-Nusra members at the checkpoint of Hafsarja village.
  • Cattle rustling/banditry

    No specific mention.

  • Social cover

    No specific mention.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Praise be to God and prayers and peace be upon the most honorable of the Prophets, Muhammad and upon all his family and companions, and after:

It was agreed to form a Sharia committee to begin resolving the conflict in Idlib between Jabhat al-Nusra and some of the Free Syrian Army factions, provided that it begins its work within 48 hours of its date:

The committee is formed from the following individuals, the sheikhs:

1- Yaqoob al-Omar (Jabhat al-Nusra) [signature]

2- Muhammad Izzedine Khattab (Syria Revolutionaries Front) [signature]

3- Abdullah Al-Muhaisni (independent)

4- Yassin Alloush (Independent) [signature]

5- Abdel Mon’im Zaid Eddin (Independent) [signature]

And that all parties are committed to implementing all rulings and decisions issued by this committee, praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.

20 Ramadan 1435 AH

19/7/2014