Agreement between the Local and Shura Coucils and Jabat Tahrir al-Suriyyah, Tahrir al-Sham and Faylaq al-Sham regarding the village of Kfar Darian, Idlib

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Country/entity: Syria
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Agreement between the Local and Shura Coucils and Jabat Tahrir al-Suriyyah, Tahrir al-Sham and Faylaq al-Sham regarding the village of Kfar Darian, Idlib
Date: 27 Feb 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: Civil Society Representative Ahmed Muhammad Al-Afan
Mukhtar [civil Sharif] of the Village Abdul Karim Al-Afan
Council of the Senate Chairman Hasan Sharif Mustafa
Chairman of Local Council Khalid Jasim

Representative from Jabhat Tahrīr Suria
Representative from Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām
Representative from Failaq al-Shām
Third parties: Teachers Syndicate in Idlib

A representative of the Idlib Provincial Council
Description: Agreement between locally active armed groups and local institutions concerning the merging of armed groups under the local councils and provision of security and order in the community.

Agreement document: SY_180227_Agreement between the Local and Shura Coucils and Jabat Tahrir al-Suriyyah, Tahrir al-Sham and Faylaq al-Sham regarding the village of Kfar Darian, Idlib.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF
Agreement document (original language): SY_180227_Agreement between the Local and Shura Coucils and Jabat Tahrir al-Suriyyah, Tahrir al-Sham and Faylaq al-Sham regarding the village of Kfar Darian, Idlib_AR.pdf (opens in new tab)| Download PDF

Local agreement properties

Process type: Formal structured process
Rationale: This agreement appears to be part of a set of agreements around the same time, for towns across Idlib governorate and the agreement source conveys a collective stance across localities for local communities and civil society groups or representatives to encourage de-escalation of fighting in their respective areas. In this agreement a representative of the provincial council also appears to be present and signs the agreement.
Is there a documented link to a national peace process?: Yes
Link to national process: articulated rationale: On the basis that this is an example of a complex or nested conflict and is highly localised, the link to the national is based on the presence of a provincial level council representative for Idlib who signs the agreement.
Name of Locale: Kafr Dariyan (Kfar Darian)
Nature of Locale: City
GPS Lat/Long (DD): 36.174749, 36.666430
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

Page 1, And the God is behind this purpose
Grievance List: Page 1, Fourth: Form a civilian outpost from the people of the village to be affiliated to the local council, and its mission is to maintain security, order and protect the village.
Cattle rustling/banditry: No specific mention.
Social cover: No specific mention.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

In view of the current circumstances and the situation in the region, a meeting was held of the local council and the Shura Council, and members from all the [armed] factions that are present in the village.

The following was approved:

First:

The village of Kufr and Rayan to completely neutralize

Second:

All fighters in the village from all factions are considered as one body and belong to the village's local council

Third, the village of Kafr and Rayan to be emptied from military headquarters [centres and points] and armed appearances

Fourth:

Form a civilian outpost from the people of the village to be affiliated to the local council, and its mission is to maintain security, order and protect the village.

And the God is behind this purpose

Tuesday 27/2/2018

Civil Society Mukhtar [civil Sharif] of Council of Chairman of Local

Representative the Village the Senate Chairman Council

Ahmed Muhammad Abdul Karim Hasan Sharif Khalid Jasim

Al-Afan Al-Afan Mustafa

[Signature] [Signature] [Signature] [Signature]

Representative from Representative from Representative from

Jabhat Tahrīr Suria Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām Failaq al-Shām

[Signature] [Signature] [Signature]

Teachers Syndicate A representative

in Idlib of the Idlib Provincial Council

[Signature] [Signature]

Notice Anybody who breaches any provision [of the agreement] is considered an individual’s behaviour and never representative of the village