Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and Nour al-Din al-Zenki in Tal Adeh

Country/entity
Syria
Region
Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name
Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and Nour al-Din al-Zenki in Tal Adeh
Date
30 Dec 2018
Agreement status
Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement
Yes
Agreement/conflict level
Intrastate/local conflict
Stage
Other
Conflict nature
Inter-group
Peace process
Syrian Local Agreements
Parties
National Liberation Front (Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement), Abdo Zamzam
National Liberation Front, Jaber Ali al-Basha
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Ubaida Kafrhor
Third parties
Ansar al-Din
Description
Three point agreement providing for resolution of a set of 'tit-for-tat' killings, by providing for a process of adjudication relating to the latest killing, and provision to restore inter-group relationships and (implicitly) the ceasefire.

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 is linked to local issues only. 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 must be seen in the light of multiple local level processes in Aleppo governorate in late 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. The agreement stipulates that a joint chamber of operation should be formed to topple the Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Finally, the agreement should be understood in the context of an “intra-religious insurgent groups” conflict where several factions that all oppose Bashar al-Assad engaged in fighting and took some distance from their initial raison d’être in the context of the Syrian civil war.
Name of Locale
Talada
Nature of Locale
Smaller
GPS Lat/Long (DD)
36.253028, 36.801925
Participant type
Local armed group
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, Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon, his family and companions, and after:
Grievance List
Page 1, After the meeting between brothers from the National Liberation Front (al-Zenki Movement) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham about the sinful killing that took place in the village of Tal Adeh, the Zenki Movement reported its narration about the incident, stating that a civilian group from Beyet Al-Barsha lives in the Euphrates Shield areas infiltrated the Al-Qatura Junction through a road called Al-Warsh, towards the village of Tal Adeh, they carried out the killing, and confessed about it in revenge for their previous killers, while Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stated that the group infiltrated from al-Zenki positions in Jabal Barakat to the village of Tal Adeh and killed the brothers and that it had its evidence for that, and accordingly, the following was agreed upon:
Cattle rustling/banditry

No specific mention.

Social cover
Page 1, 2. Handing over the accused persons to Ansar al-Din as a third party within a maximum period of twenty-four hours from its date

Source agreement

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

Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon, his family and companions, and after:

After the meeting between brothers from the National Liberation Front (Al-Zanki Movement) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham about the sinful killing that took place in the village of Talada, the Zanki Movement reported its narration about the incident, stating that a civilian group from Beyet Al-Barsha lives in the Euphrates Shield areas infiltrated the Al-Qatura Junction through a road called Al-Warsh, towards the village of Talada, they carried out the killing, and confessed about it in revenge for their previous killers, while Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stated that the group infiltrated from Al-Zanki positions in Jabal Barakat to the village of Talada and killed the brothers and that it had its evidence for that, and accordingly, the following was agreed upon:

1. Judge Anas Ayrout to decide the case and the two parties promise to accept the judgments and decisions issued by him and implement them, with the right to file a claim by any party against its opponent regarding this case.

2. Handing over the accused persons to Ansar al-Din as a third party within a maximum period of twenty-four hours from its date

3. Break the alert between the two parties and open the roads,

4. Conclude a session later between the leadership of the National Front and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, to discuss the Hay’at’s claim of violating the recent agreement between the two parties regarding the city of Darat Azza by al-Zanki [Movement].

Sunday 30/12/2017

National Liberation Front National Liberation Front Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

(Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement) Jaber Ali al-Basha Abu Ubaida Kafrhor

Abdo Zamzam [Signature] [Signature]

[Signature]