Minutes of the Disengagement Agreement and Truce between the areas of Warshafānah and al-Zāwiyyah

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Country/entity: Libya
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Minutes of the Disengagement Agreement and Truce between the areas of Warshafānah and al-Zāwiyyah
Date: 12 Nov 2015
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Intrastate/local conflict
Libyan Conflicts (1969 - 1994) (2011 - )
Agreements relate to two distinct conflict dyads.
Libya-Chad. Since the 1970s, Libya under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had a tense relationship with its neighbour Chad, predominantly focused on the resource-rich Aouzou Strip in northern Chad. Libyan claims of the Aouzou Strip were held in an un-ratified treaty between France and Italy in 1935, similarly Chadian claims of the Strip were argued with support of a 1955 treaty between Libya and France. In 1973, Libya effectively annexed the Strip to gain access to natural resources. This spurred cross-border clashes between 1979 until 1987 until escalated to a brief war known as the Toyota War, wherein Chadian government troops succeeded in repelling Libyan forces. A brief and repeatedly violated ceasefire was held from 1987-88, followed by a series of unsuccessful negotiations, until an International Court of Justice ruling in 1994, which granted sovereignty of the Strip to Chad.

Libya post-Gaddafi. Gaddafi’s downfall following the Libyan Civil War in 2011-2012, led to several factions fighting for the country’s leadership. Since 2013, the country effectively split into three entities, with the National Army controlling the east including the city of Benghazi, and the New General National Congress and their militias such as the Golden Dawn controlling the northwest including the capital of Tripoli. Significant portions of the country in the south-west are currently held by Tuareg forces. The civil war and chaos continued into 2014 as the General National Congress refused to disband after the expiry of its mandate, resulting in eruption of mass protests. The UN efforts continue to broker peace between the Libyan Army and the Libya Dawn factions, and a partial ceasefire was declared in January 2015. A new interim-government (Tunisia-based) called ‘Government of National Accord’ is formed with the backing of UN despite the refusal of the other forces to recognise its authority and arrived to Tripoli with the UN in 2016. A state of emergency was declared by the UN backed government amid clashed between rival militia in Tripoli’s southern suburbs. Since April 2019 there has been sustained fighting between the Libyan National Army and the UN-backed government in Tripoli as the Libyan National Army aims to seize Tripoli.
Stage: Ceasefire/related
Conflict nature: Government
Peace process: Libyan local processes
Parties: Committee of the Warshafānah Area:
1. Chancellor Nājī ‘Asha
2. Salīm al-Dawārī
3. Al-Sādiq ‘Āshūr Hamām
4. Īsmā’īl Jam’ah Ābū Halalah
5. ‘Abd al-Salām Ramadān Ābū ‘Amīd
6. Muhammad Shatyawi Ghawar
7. Al-Mansūrī Muhammad ‘Awīdāt
Committee of the al-Zāwiyyah Area
1. Al-Mahdī ‘Alī al-Shāwish
2. Muhammad al-Bahlūl Ābū Khadīr
3. ‘Amād Mīlūd Sultān
4. Zahīr Muhammad al-Dūbalī
5. Muhammad Hussayn al-Khudrāwī
6. Muhid Ābū ‘Ajīlah Suwīsī
7. Khayr Mustafah Ajīnah
Quartet Commission for Dialogue and Agreement
First – The Commission for Dialogue and Communication in al-Zintān
1. ‘Alī Ābū al-‘Īd Ramadān
2. ‘Abd Āllah ‘Āhmad ‘Abd Āllah
3. Muhammad ‘Āhmad Daqālī
4. Al-Sādiq Rahmūdah Shamiyyah
5. Al-Hādī Āmuhammad al-‘Amiyānī
6. Sālih Sa’ad al-Dhīb
7. Al-Ramāh Muhammad al-Duhanūs
8. Sh’abān al-‘Amiyānī ‘Āhmad
9. ‘Abd al-Qādr ‘Alī al-Numur

Second – The Committee of al-Rajabān and al-‘Āsab’ah
1. Mus’ūd Hussayn al-Madhūnī
2. Āmuhammad ‘Abd Āllah al-Ābyad
3. Muhammad al-Marzūqnī al-Malālī
4. Salīm ‘Abd al-Qādr
5. Mus’ūd ‘Abd Āllah al-Turkī
6. Āmuhammad ‘Abd Āllah Ābū al-Sh’ālah
7. ‘Alī Khalīfah Zahmūl
8. Āmuhammad Mu’ammar al-Tarjamān
9. ‘Āhmad Muhammad ‘Āhmad al-Hamarūnī
10. Sulaymān ‘Abd al- Salām
Third parties: -
Description: Short truce agreement between warring parties near the Libyan capital, Tripoli, that provides for a ceasefire, exchange of prisoners, the establishment of a joint commission to solve the dispute over the Coastal Road and other common issues including the relocation of dissapeared/missing persons, a cessation of use of the media for hostile propaganda and a cessation of arresting individuals based on their identity.

Agreement document: LY_151112_Minutes of the Disengagement Agreement_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF
Agreement document (original language): LY_151112_Minutes of the Disengagement Agreement_AR.pdf (opens in new tab)| Download PDF

Local agreement properties

Process type: Formal structured process
Rationale: -> Link to national level; external support mechanism; culture of signing The agreement was supported by two locally-establish mechanisms, including the Quartet Commission for Dialogue and Agreement composed of the Committee of Dialogue and Communication in al-Zintān.
Is there a documented link to a national peace process?: Yes
Link to national process: articulated rationale: Although the agreement was triggered by a specific and localised event (helicopter crash), it involves representatives of two cities that support opposing sides in the conflict. Moreover, the victims of the crash included a military commander involved in the Libyan civil war and the General National Congress of Libya declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the incident. The agreement thus seems linked to the national process.
Name of Locale: NA
Nature of Locale: Region
GPS Lat/Long (DD): 32.800358, 12.900343
Participant type: Local state actor
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, With Allah’s blessings

Page 1, After discussions and a presentation of [different] views, a convergence of opinion has been reached, with the help of Allah.
Grievance List: Although the agreement does not refer to specific causes of the conflict, it seems that the confrontation between armed factions in the outskirt of Tripoli following the crash of a helicopter lies at the centre of the dispute.
Cattle rustling/banditry: No specific mention.
Social cover: No specific mention.

Minutes of the Disengagement Agreement and Truce between

the areas of Warshafānah and al-Zāwiyyah

12 November 2015

With Allah’s blessings, on Thursday 29 Muharram 1437 (12 November 2015) in the area of Bi’r al-Ghamin under the auspices of the Committee of Dialogue and Communication in al-Zintān and the Committee of al-Rajabān and al-‘Āsab’ah, the two disputing parties met in order to disengage and reconcile between two authorized parties from the two districts.

After discussions and a presentation of [different] views, a convergence of opinion has been reached, with the help of Allah.

First – Terminate [the exchange of] fire between the two disputing parties;

withdraw armed forces from the barricades by a distance of 4 kilometres from both sides;

accelerate talks between the two parties and quickly form a committee to observe the ceasefire, provided that the burdened sponsoring committee and the two committees belonging to the two parties implement and follow-up on the items of the agreement.

Second – An exchange of all detainees between the two sides.

Third – Stop arrests based on identity, regardless of location.

Fourth – Set up international and local investigation committees to investigate the circumstance of the helicopter crash.

The responsible party shall bear all consequences for the outcome of the investigations.

Fifth – Form a joint committee to solve the problem of the coastal road and pursue the other outstanding issues under the supervision of the Quartet Commission for Dialogue and follow up on those missing.

Sixth – Any party shall assume responsibility for using their territory for warring or striking the other party.

Seventh – Stop the use of the media to call for sedition or to differentiate between Libyans.

The record of the agreement ends with the signatures of the authorised committees of Warshafānah and al- Zāwiyyah, and the Quartet Committee for Dialogue.

Committee of the Warshafānah Area:

1. Chancellor Nājī ‘Asha

2. Salīm al-Dawārī

3. Al-Sādiq ‘Āshūr Hamām

4. Īsmā’īl Jam’ah Ābū Halalah

5. ‘ Abd al-Salām Ramadān Ābū ‘Amīd

6. Muhammad Shatyawi Ghawar

7. Al-Mansūrī Muhammad ‘Awīdāt

Committee of the al-Zāwiyyah Area

1. Al-Mahdī ‘Alī al-Shāwish

2. Muhammad al-Bahlūl Ābū Khadīr

3. ‘ Amād Mīlūd Sultān

4. Zahīr Muhammad al-Dūbalī

5. Muhammad Hussayn al-Khudrāwī

6. Muhid Ābū ‘Ajīlah Suwīsī

7. Khayr Mustafah Ajīnah

Quartet Commission for Dialogue and Agreement

First – The Commission for Dialogue and Communication in al-Zintān

1. ‘ Alī Ābū al-‘Īd Ramadān

2. ‘ Abd Āllah ‘Āhmad ‘Abd Āllah

3. Muhammad ‘Āhmad Daqālī

4. Al-Sādiq Rahmūdah Shamiyyah

5. Al-Hādī Āmuhammad al-‘Amiyānī

6. Sālih Sa’ad al-Dhīb

7. Al-Ramāh Muhammad al-Duhanūs

8. Sh’abān al-‘Amiyānī ‘Āhmad

9. ‘ Abd al-Qādr ‘Alī al-Numur

Second – The Committee of al-Rajabān and al-‘Āsab’ah

1. Mus’ūd Hussayn al-Madhūnī

2. Āmuhammad ‘Abd Āllah al-Ābyad

3. Muhammad al-Marzūqnī al-Malālī

4. Salīm ‘Abd al-Qādr

5. Mus’ūd ‘Abd Āllah al-Turkī

6. Āmuhammad ‘Abd Āllah Ābū al-Sh’ālah

7. ‘ Alī Khalīfah Zahmūl

8. Āmuhammad Mu’ammar al-Tarjamān

9. ‘ Āhmad Muhammad ‘Āhmad al-Hamarūnī

10. Sulaymān ‘Abd al- Salām