Ceasefire between Salafists and Houthis in Dammaj

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Country/entity: Yemen
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Ceasefire between Salafists and Houthis in Dammaj
Date: 6 Jan 2014
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Intrastate/local conflict
Yemeni Civil Wars (1994) (2011 - )
The Republic of Yemen was formed in May 1990 after the merger between the Yemeni Arab Republic (YAR) in the north and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) in the south. The unification process was rushed and the final agreement between President Ali Abdullah Saleh and President Ali Salem al-Beidh was based on the imperfect promise of equality. Following the merger, integration of the militaries and civil services was at best incomplete or at times entirely non-existent. When Saleh’s General Congress Party (GPC) allied itself with the newly created Islamist Islah (‘reform’) party in 1993, the former ruling party of South Yemen – the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP) – was effectively side-lined in the 1993 General Elections. Violence involving the use of heavy weaponry and aerial bombardment erupted in April 1994 and on the 21 May 1994 Vice President al-Beidh declared the secession of the south, citing political centralization with the northern highland tribes, violence against the YSP and economic discrimination. In the midst of fighting, negotiations in Cairo, Egypt, collapsed. The war ended with the military victory of the north, and on the 1 October 1994, Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected President.

Despite the unification of Yemen in 1990, political power during the 1990s and 2000s remained centralized with the northern highland tribes, particularly the villages from which President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his confidants stemmed. The system of clientelism established through the ruling General People’s Congress party maintained relative loyalty among the fractured political allegiances of Yemen’s traditional tribal leadership. However, diminishing oil reserves and the shrinking opportunities for access to rent increased economic and political marginalization in Yemen’s peripheral communities. The degree of regionalism of conflicts is further defined by other local grievances. In the northern governorate of Sa’dah, a backlash was provoked among the local Zaydi Shi’a against Sunni Salafist cultural incursions resulting in six wars between 2004 and 2010. In the southern governorates of Hadramawt, Shabwa, al-Dhali and Abyan, civil and military personnel forcibly retired after the 1994 Civil War began protesting and eventually formed the secessionist Southern ‘al-Hiraak’ movement in 2007. Furthermore, tribal grievances have spurred attacks on oil companies and government installations to extract rents. Various takfiri groups including al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have also increased their presence since 1995.

The Yemen Spring in early 2011 allowed all these movements to express their joint displeasure. Moreover, factionalism in the regime split the already weak military and thus allowed the Houthis, the takfiris and tribal-based militia known as popular committees, to assert themselves militarily. Mandated by the UN-sponsored Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative, the National Dialogue held from March 2013 to January 2014 aimed at guaranteeing power-sharing among the different parties. However, the GCC Initiative only included formal political parties that did not accurately reflect political realities. Furthermore, provisions lacked adequate transitional justice and provided former-President Saleh, as well as others, full amnesty. As a result, little faith was placed in the process by formerly marginalized groups such as the Zaydi Shia Houthi rebels (Ansar Allah) and al-Hiraak who opted to increase their bargaining power vis-à-vis the state by strengthening their own territorial enclaves. In September 2014 the Houthis succeeded in capturing the capital Sana’a and gradually expanded their control southward. The subsequent UN-mediated Peace and National Partnership Agreement between transitional president Hadi and the Houthis on a federal, democratic Yemeni state, failed to be implemented as the Houthis successfully dissolved the parliament and deposed Hadi in January 2015. Following the Saudi military intervention to restore the Hadi government in March 2015, ceasefire attempts continuously failed. A two-year deadlock ensued until negotiations between the Houthis and the government of Yemen finally culminated in the Stockholm Agreement in December 2018. However, throughout 2019 the Saudi-led coalition continues to launch airstrikes. Furthermore, in May 2017 the Southern al-Hiraak movement had declared the secessionist formation of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), seizing the interim-capital Aden by January 2018. Territorial divisions between the Yemeni government, the Houthis, forces affiliated with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, local militias and tribes have continued to fracture the country.
Stage: Ceasefire/related
Conflict nature: Inter-group
Peace process: Yemen Inter-group Agreements
Parties: Houthis (Ansar Allah);

Salafists at Dar al-Hadith Centre in Dammaj.
Third parties: Under the generous sponsorship of His Excellency Brother ‘Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi, President of the Republic, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Security
Description: Agreement mediated by the Presidential Council between Ansar Allah and the Dar al-Hadith Institute in Dammaj, which escalated during Summer 2013-January 2014. Provisions include a ceasefire, opening roads, an end to looting of artifacts, release of prisoners, an end to highway robbery, an end to use of pulpit and media to sow sedition, and that the agreement will be implemented by the Presidential Committee, Parliamentary Committee and the Tribal Committee.

Agreement document: YE_140106_Ceasefire between Salafists and Houthis in Dammaj_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF
Agreement document (original language): YE_140106_Ceasefire between Salafists and Houthis in Dammaj_AR.pdf (opens in new tab)| Download PDF

Local agreement properties

Process type: Formal structured process
Rationale: This ceasefire agreement is part of a number of similar processes taking place around the same time in Yemen between Ansar Allah(Houthis) and local groups. The provisions explicitly refer to previous agreements signed by both parties. The agreement is also directly supported by the Presidential Council and similarly this support comes alongside references to similar type of commitments in the past.
Is there a documented link to a national peace process?: Yes
Link to national process: articulated rationale: In this case the link to the national is inferred by the presence of President Hadi's Mediation Council, both in the sense that it mediates the agreement whilst also committing to ensure that the people of Dammaj are supported.
Name of Locale: Sa'adah
Nature of Locale: City
GPS Lat/Long (DD): 16.951454, 43.747741
Participant type: Local armed group
Domestic religious organisation/leader or other elder
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 Merciful

Page 1, God is the Arbiter of Guidance and Success…
Grievance List: [Summary] (1) A cessation of fighting between the parties, across the governorates of Saada and Amran, including areas within the neighbouring provinces of Hajjah, Al Jawf and Sana'a (2) securing and opening roads between all of these areas and ensuring entry of food into Sa'ada and Dammaj (3) halting all excavation or theft of artefacts from the areas mentioned (4) release of prisoners on both sides (5) Ending theft on the road and return of stolen property (6) The ending of all divisive media campaigns founded on or using religious elements
Cattle rustling/banditry: Page 1, Fourth: Everything that was taken from cars on the road and all possessions will be handed over.
Social cover: No specific mention.

In the name of Allah the Merciful

Minutes of Agreement

Under the generous sponsorship of His Excellency Brother ‘Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi, President of the Republic, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Security, the signatories below agree to the following:

First (A): There will be a ceasefire in all of Dammaj, Haradh, Khiwan and Danan

(B): All the roads from Sana’a to Sa’ada, from Haradh to Sa’ada, from Jawf to Sa’ada and from Arhab to Sa’ada will be opened.

The entry of all food and supplies products to Sa’ada and Dammaj will be allowed, except for combat support.

(C): Both sides will cease to dig for and remove artefacts in all of Dammaj, Haradh, Khiwan and Danan.

Only the people of the country remain, according to a clear implementation plan.

Second:

The committee headed by Sheikh Kahlan will implement peace between ‘Adhar [Atar] and al-‘Usaymat.

Third:

All prisoners and captives from both sides will be released.

Fourth:

Everything that was taken from cars on the road and all possessions will be handed over.

Fifth:

All media campaigns and sectarian invitations by any means - either through mosques, the media, forums or any other means – will stop from both sides.

Sixth:

A team will be formed for the Presidential Committee, the Parliamentary Committee and the Tribal Committee to work on what has been mentioned.

Seventh:

This agreement is a commitment to the previous agreements signed by both parties, whether from the Presidential Committee, the Parliamentary Committee or the Tribal Committee.

Eighth:

All the minutes signed by the committees and the team that joined the committees will be elevated to His Excellency the President of the Republic for verification and to discipline the offenders from any side.

God is the Arbiter of Guidance and Success...