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 ( Syrian Conflicts (1948 - ) (1976 - 2005) (2011 - ) )
  • 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

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]