Agreement between National Front for Liberation and the Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS)

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Country/entity: Syria
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Agreement between National Front for Liberation and the Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS)
Date: 6 Oct 2018
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: Representative of the National Front Liberation
Abu Al Bara’a Hasan Soufan
[Signed]

Representative of the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham
Dr. Madhhar Luwais
[Signed]
Third parties: -
Description: Four point agreement providing for (1) removal of armed presence from town; (2) release of prisoners; (3) for the courts to decide on civilian's rights; and (4) that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is responsible for persons killed and property taken during the last ceasefire violation.

Agreement document: SY_181007_Agreement between HTS and National Front_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF
Agreement document (original language): SY_181007_Agreement between HTS and National Front_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; culture of signing No formally established mechanism supported the negotiation between the two armed groups. Moreover, this agreement cannot be linked to the national peace process. Indeed, both groups oppose the rule of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and reject the idea of a national negotiation to solve the conflict. Yet, it seems that both signing parties (especially 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, the parties are 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 and Aleppo governorates in 2018.
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, all parties to the agreement reject the national peace process, as it would maintain Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government in power.
Name of Locale: Kafr Halab, Mizanaz, Kafr Nuran
Nature of Locale: Region
GPS Lat/Long (DD): 36.060710, 36.873517
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, In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Page 1, All praises be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet of Allah, his family, his companions, and his allies.
Grievance List: While the agreement only mentions "the recent problems" between the signing parties, it lists four provisions to solve local grievances:

Page 1,
- Removing the military manifestations and bringing back civilian life to its normal state in the areas of the conflict
- Immediately releasing all of the people who were detained, from either side, because of the most recent events and immediately searching for and apprehending those wanted by the law
- With regards to the civilians and their rights, these issues are referred to a judicial committee that is to be agreed upon within a week from the date of this statement
- Hayat Tahrir Al Sham’s guarantee for the most recent violation of the ceasefire that was agreed upon, and it is responsible for the people killed and property taken
Cattle rustling/banditry: No specific mention.
Social cover: No specific mention.

Agreement between National Front for Liberation and the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

All praises be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet of Allah, his family, his companions, and his allies.

An agreement has been reached between the brothers in the National Front for Liberation and the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham with regards to the recent problem, and it is as follows:

- Removing the military manifestations and bringing back civilian life to its normal state in the areas of the conflict

- Immediately releasing all of the people who were detained, from either side, because of the most recent events and immediately searching for and apprehending those wanted by the law

- With regards to the civilians and their rights, these issues are referred to a judicial committee that is to be agreed upon within a week from the date of this statement

- Hayat Tahrir Al Sham’s guarantee for the most recent violation of the ceasefire that wasagreed upon, and it is responsible for the people killed and property taken

Representative of the National Front LiberationAbu Al Bara’a Hasan Soufan

[Signed]

Representative of the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham Dr. Madhhar Luwais

[Signed]

Date:

6/10/2018