Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and the elders of several villages in al-Ghab Plain

Country/entity
Syria
Region
Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name
Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and the elders of several villages in al-Ghab Plain
Date
9 Jan 2019
Agreement status
Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement
Yes
Agreement/conflict level
Intrastate/local conflict
Stage
Ceasefire/related
Conflict nature
Inter-group
Peace process
Syrian Local Agreements
Parties
Tahrir al-Sham
Elders of the villages of al-Hawash, al-Hawija, al-Hawiz, al-Hurriyyah, al-Hamra, Bab al-Taqah, and Shariyyah
Third parties
-
Description
Three-point agreement providing for the administrative affiliation of villages to the Salvation government, neutralization and demilitarization of the villages

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. Yet, it seems that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham choose to solve daily pragmatic issues related to their armed struggle through agreements. Although one cannot speak of a “culture” of singing peace agreements, at least one of the parties is 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 late-2018 and early-2019 between opposition groups and local elders.
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, a key party to the agreement rejects the national peace process, as it would maintain Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government in power. Finally, the agreement complements another agreements signed on the same day between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham in the same area. As such, these agreements 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
al-Ghab Plain
Nature of Locale
Region
GPS Lat/Long (DD)
35.557691, 36.346081
Participant type
Local armed group
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
Grievance List

No specific mention.

Cattle rustling/banditry

No specific mention.

Social cover
Page 1,
Third: Exempting members of Ahrar al-Sham from any rights of the Hayat

Source agreement

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

This is what the two parties agreed on:

First party:

Notables from the following villages:

1-Al-Hawash 2-al-Hawija 3-Al-Howiz 4-al-Hurriyyah 5-Al-Hemawi 6-Bab al-Taqa7-al-Shari’yyah

The second party:

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham

On: First:

These villages are administratively affiliated with the Salvation Government.

Second:

[The villages] To be neutralized from the current fighting.

Third:

Exempting members of Ahrar al-Sham from any rights of the Hay’at

Fourth:

Handover the weapons that belong to Harakat Ahram al-Sham

First party:

Habban Omar Al-Mawas/ Bab al-Taqa [Signature] The second party

Abdul al-Salam Al-A’aqoub/ al-Hurriyyah [Signature] Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham

Nawaz Al-Hassan/ Al-Howiz [Signature] Abu Yousef Al-Hamwi

Muhammad Shehadeh Al-Jassem/ al-Hurriyyah [Signature] [stamp]

-Halim Hussein Al-Hassan/ Al-Howiz [Signature] [Signature]

Abdullah Ahmad Hawas/ Bab al-Taqa [Signature]

Firas Mansour/ -al-Hawija [Signature]