Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and the elders of the village of Hazano

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Country/entity: Syria
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and the elders of the village of Hazano
Date: 7 Jan 2019
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: Framework/substantive - partial
Conflict nature: Inter-group
Peace process: Syrian Local Agreements
Parties: President of the council of dignitaries at the town on Hazano Brother Salah El-Din Zein
A representative and a delegate from Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām, brother Abu al-Ez
Third parties: -
Description: The representatives of the village of Hazano and the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham agree on the governing body for the area the village is in; additionally the latter party agreest that they will not carry weapons in the village. [translator note: There is a mistake in the year. The hijri year is not 1940 as stated in the agreement, it is 1490]

Agreement document: SY_190107_Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and the elders of the village of Hazano.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF
Agreement document (original language): SY_190107_Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and the elders of the village of Hazano_AR.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 The agreement seems to be the result of a once-off negotiation that relates to a specific city. It does not appear that any national or regional mechanism was established to support the negotiation. Finally, the agreement does not seem to relate to a persistent practice or culture of signing agreements, even though Tahrir al-Sham signed several agreements with local representatives on matters related to civil administration and the (de)militarisation of specific locales.
Is there a documented link to a national peace process?: No
Link to national process: articulated rationale: The declaration does not contain any mention to the wider peace process in Syria; although it involved the representation of civilian constituencies.
Name of Locale: Hazano
Nature of Locale: City
GPS Lat/Long (DD): 36.089771, 36.715214
Participant type: Local state actor
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, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Page 1, And the God is behind this purpose
Grievance List: The agreement does not refer to specific causes of the conflict. It seems that the control of the city and military operations conducted by an opposition Salafi-Jihadi group is the main bone of contention.
Cattle rustling/banditry: No specific mention.
Social cover: No specific mention.

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

Today, Monday, the seventeenth of December, two thousand and nineteen, corresponding to the thirtieth of Rabi ’al-Akhr of year one thousand nine hundred and forty

The meeting took place between the brothers of Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām [Organization for the Liberation of the Levant] and dignitaries and notables of the village of Hazano

The following points were agreed upon:

First:

Hazano belongs to the Salvation Government in the Civil and Military Administration.

Second:

The unstable factions of Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām are obliged to coordinate with the council of dignitaries and notables on the town [Hazano] to stand neutral and not carry weapon unless they want to guard [patrolling], in this case, the Hayʼat [Organization for the Liberation of the Levant] will secure all of their [the factions] needs.

And the God is behind this purpose

President of the council of dignitaries A representative and a delegate from

at the town on Hazano Hayʼat Tahrīr al-Shām, brother

Brother Salah El-Din Zein Abu al-Ez [cut]

[Signature] [Signature] [Stamp]