Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and Sarmin Shura Council on the raid on the outskirts in the city

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Country/entity: Syria
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and Sarmin Shura Council on the raid on the outskirts in the city
Date: 29 Jun 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: Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām Sa’ad al-Din al-Sabah [Signature] [Stamp]
Sarmin Shura Council Abu Abdo [Signature]
Third parties: Witness Delegate of Ansār al-Tawhīd Hamza [Signature]
Description: Seven point agreement between a local council and military official from Salafi-Jihadi group Tahrir al-Sham that has a presence in the village. The agreement provides for (1) sparing the villages from combat after 48 hours; (2) joint security of the village and its surrounding to face the Islamic State; (3) Local representatives keep control over city administration; (4) forming a local committee to decide on all issues between the locals and armed group.

Agreement document: SY_180629_Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and Sarmin Shura Council on the raid on the outskirts in the city.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Local agreement properties

Process type: Isolated example
Rationale: -> Local issues only; no external support mechanism; no culture of signing (ad hoc) The document is a once-off declaration that relates to a specific and localised series of clashes and its consequences. It does not appear that any national or regional mechanism was established to support the negotiation. Finally, the declaration does not seem to relate to a persistent practice or culture of signing agreements in the area of Sarmin. Multiple agreements have been signed in the governorate of Idlib - where Sarmin is - but not between those parties.
Is there a documented link to a national peace process?: No
Link to national process: articulated rationale: The agreement appears independent from the national process but involves local governance actors representing civilian constituencies of Sarmin. Considering the fighters under village control, which include factions of Salafi-Jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and witness Ansar al-Tahwid, they are not official 'state' representatives.
Name of Locale: Sarmin
Nature of Locale: City
GPS Lat/Long (DD): 35.903609, 36.726565
Participant type: Local state actor
Local armed group
Mediator, facilitator or similar: Mediator or similar referred to
Mediator (references): NA
Type of mediator/facilitator/similar: Local armed group

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: The agreement does not refer to specific causes of the conflict. It seems that the control of Sarmin by an opposition Salafi-Jihadi group is the main bone of contention, in addition to the threat of Islamic State organization's fighters in the outskirt of the village.
Cattle rustling/banditry: No specific mention.
Social cover: No specific mention.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful 29/06/2018

This is what was agreed upon by Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām [Organization for the Liberation of the Levant] and the people of Sarmin

- Forming a joint executive force from Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām and the people of the city of Sarmin to supervise the raiding of the specific targets on the State Organization [ISIS] and the suspect ones in the city of Sarmin.

- The security campaign inside the city of Sarmin to end in 48 hours.

- The Sarmin city administration remains to the people of Sarmin after the [military] campaign.

- Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām is responsible for securing the Saraqib-Idlib Highway

- The people of Sarmin are responsible for securing their city

- Forming a legal committee that is acceptable to both parties, which will decide on all issues between the Hayʼat and the people of Sarmin.

- In the event that a target affiliated to the State Organization [ISIS] is proven inside the city of Sarmin, he will be dealt with in coordination between Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām and the people of the city of Sarmin after the campaign

Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām Witness Sarmin Shura Council

Sa’ad al-Din al-Sabah Delegate of Ansār al-Tawhīd Abu Abdo

[Signature] Hamza

[Stamp] [Signature] [Signature]