Agreement between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Free Idlib Army

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Country/entity: Syria
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Agreement between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Free Idlib Army
Date: 9 Jun 2017
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Intrastate/local conflict
Syrian Conflicts (1948 - ) (1976 - 2005) (2011 - )
The agreements relate to three different conflict contexts. Israel-Syria and Syria-Lebanon. The Syrian-Israeli conflict was a key factor for the Syrian intervention during the Lebanese Civil War, with Syrian-backed Palestinian Liberation Army units intervened in 1976 against the Palestinian/Leftist militias. Following a massacre at Tel al-Zaatar that year, Syria was forced to accept a ceasefire at a meeting of the Arab League. However, the Arab League also mandated an Arab Deterrence Force, consisting of mostly Syrian soldiers with token contributions from other Arab League states, thus further legitimizing the Syrian presence in Lebanon. During a second bout of fighting that began in 1989, caused by the formation of rival Lebanese regimes in East and West Beirut, the Syrian-backed regime won and in 1991 the ‘Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation and Coordination’ was signed to legalize the Syrian occupation as a means to ensure the security of Syria. Syrian forces were forced to withdraw in 2005 following possible involvement in the assassination of Lebanon’s President Hariri.

Syria-internal. In 2011, domestic upheaval following a wave of protests across the Arab World soon led to violent repression of protestors by Syrian government troops. The violence progressed steadily and by July 2011 the Free Syrian Army (FSA) was formed consisting of defected military units and new recruits. The FSA and rebel umbrella group known as the Syrian National Council represented the first attempt at coordinating rebel factions in late 2011. However, a steady influx of foreign fighters and increased sectarianism radicalised opposition groups, which relied on foreign funding. The nature of the conflict changed drastically in late 2013 as infighting among the opposition groups increased. One of the more significant developments was the split between the al-Qaeda outfits the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS), and Jabhat al-Nusra in early 2014 in addition to the intensified targeting of other rebel factions by ISIS fighters in particular, including the Kurdish Peshmerga, the FSA and other jihadist outfits. Since the summer of 2014, the conflict was further internationalized when ISIS announced the formation of an Islamic state eroding the state line between Iraq and Syria and also in mid-2015 when Russian forces intervened on behalf of the Bashar al-Assad government in Damascus.
Stage: Ceasefire/related
Conflict nature: Inter-group
Peace process: Syrian Local Agreements
Parties: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Amar al-Filistini
The Free Idlib Army, Damar Qanatari
Third parties: -
Description: Five point agreement providing for the formation of a judicial committee consisting of both parties related to the events of Marat al-Numan. Free Idlib Army will hand over all wanted persons to HTS. All Farqa 13 HQ are handed over to the Free Idlib Army. All armed groups in Marat al-Numan will be disbanded.

Agreement document: SY_170609_Agreement between HTS and Free Idlib Army_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF
Agreement document (original language): SY_170609_Agreement between HTS and Free Idlib Army_AR.pdf (opens in new tab)| Download PDF

Local agreement properties

Process type: Informal but persistent process
Rationale: -> Local issues only; no external support mechanism; no culture of signing An agreement signed between a Salafi-Jihad group and a nationalist Syrian group is quite rare in the Syrian context due to the ideological divide. Moreover, the agreement relates to specific issues that arose in a highly localised context. If one takes Idlib governorate as the unit of reference though, a series of agreements have been signed in the context of infighting between armed groups for control over territories, resources and populations. An agreement was signed the two same parties two months before in the same governorate.
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. The agreement does not involve local governance actors, and the signing parties themselves are not official state representative.
Name of Locale: Marat al-Numan
Nature of Locale: City
GPS Lat/Long (DD): 35.647825, 36.677642
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, Praise be to God, and May His Peace and Blessings be upon the noblest of Messengers, and on his kinsman and disciples.

Page 1, Praise be to God.
Grievance List: Although the agreement does not refer to specific causes of the conflict, it lists five provisions to address local grievances.

Page 1,
1. The formation of a judicial committee accepted by both parties. This committee reviews the recent events that resulted in deaths and injuries in the city of Marat al-Numan. These events happened between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, on the one hand, and what was previously called the Farqa 13 [Division 13], and some other corrupted groups on the other.
2. The second party, the Free Idlib Army, shall hand in all wanted persons from Farqa 13 to the Judicial Committee mentioned above.
3. The Farqa 13 will be fully and definitively dissolved.
4. All the headquarters of the so-called Farqa 13 are handed over to the Free Idlib Army
Command except for the party building which will remain at the disposal of the city of Marat
al-Numan Services Department.
5. The disbanding and removal of all armed manifestations in the city begin with the
implementation of this Agreement.
Cattle rustling/banditry: No specific mention.
Social cover: No specific mention.

In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate

Praise be to God, and May His Peace and Blessings be upon the noblest of Messengers, and on his kinsman and disciples.

The agreement between two parties, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Idlib section and the Free Idlib Army is as follows:

The formation of a judicial committee accepted by both parties.

This committee reviews the recent events that resulted in deaths and injuries in the city of Marat al-Numan.

These events happened between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, on the one hand, and what was previously called the Farqa 13 [Division 13], and some other corrupted groups on the other.

The second party, the Free Idlib Army, shall hand in all wanted persons from Farqa 13 to the Judicial Committee mentioned above.

The Farqa 13 will be fully and definitively dissolved.

All the headquarters of the so-called Farqa 13 are handed over to the Free Idlib Army Command except for the party building which will remain at the disposal of the city of Marat al-Numan Services Department.

The disbanding and removal of all armed manifestations in the city begin with the implementation of this Agreement.

Praise be to God.

Released by Friday 9/06/2017

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Amar al-Filistini

The Free Idlib Army, Damar Qanatari