Statement issued by the Sheikhoun Shura Council on the handover of Sheikhoun city

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Country/entity: Syria
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Statement issued by the Sheikhoun Shura Council on the handover of Sheikhoun city
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: Sheikhoun Shura Council [signature] [stamp]
Third parties: -
Description: -

Agreement document: SY_180227_Statement issued by the Sheikhoun Shura Council on the handover of Sheikhoun city.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.
Is there a documented link to a national peace process?: No
Link to national process: articulated rationale: No link to the national peace process can be inferred from the agreement or further research. The agreement seems to be linked to very localised issues and fighting which take place in the context of a highly nested and complex conflict in Syria.
Name of Locale: Khan Sheikhoun
Nature of Locale: City
GPS Lat/Long (DD): 35.440642, 36.650034
Participant type: 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
Grievance List: Page 1, The city of Sheikhoun has been handed to its people to neutralize the fighting between the factions and avoid bloodshed.
Cattle rustling/banditry: No specific mention.
Social cover: No specific mention.

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

A statement issued by the Khan Sheikhoun Shura Council.

The city of Sheikhoun has been handed to its people to neutralize the fighting between the factions and avoid bloodshed.

Tuesday 12 Jumada al-Akhera 1439 Hijri

February 27, 2018

Sheikhoun Shura Council

[signature] [stamp]