Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and operations room Fathbatu

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Country/entity: Syria
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and operations room Fathbatu
Date: 26 Jun 2020
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: From Tahrir al-Sham
Abu Hafs Nibsh

From Operations Room Fathbatu
Abu Abdul al-Allah al-Suri
Third parties: -
Description: Five point agreement between Tahrir al-Sham and the "Fathbatu" Operation Room providing for a ceasefire in the areas of Arab Saeed and Al-Roj Plain, west of Idlib, and the lifting of barriers and checkpoints, provided that the people of the village of Arab Saeed keep with their personal weapons. Members from both parties accused of violence are brought to the "Turkistan Islamic Party" faction for judicial consideration.

Agreement document: SY_200626_HTSandOperationRoomFaIthbobo_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF
Agreement document (original language): SY_200626_HTSandOperationRoomFaIthbobo_AR.pdf (opens in new tab)| Download PDF

Local agreement properties

Process type: Informal but persistent process
Rationale: 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 choose to solve their quarrels through agreements. According to external sources, the two parties started negotiating day before in an attempt to bring an end of several days of clashes.
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: Arab Saeed and Al-Roj Plain
Nature of Locale: Region
GPS Lat/Long (DD): 35.957064, 36.551876
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, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Grievance List: The agreement addresses the local grievances that arose from the clashes between two opposition groups in Idlib governorate after a first ceasefire was broken. According to external sources, clashes led to the killing and wounding of a number of civilians, amid attempts by the "HTS" to storm the area.
Cattle rustling/banditry: No specific mention.
Social cover: No specific mention.

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

It is on Friday, 5 Dhu al-Aqda 1441 AH corresponding to 26/6/2020 AD

The brothers in the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and brothers from the operations room “Fa Ithboto [So Stand in English] agreed on the following, concerning the events that take place between the two parties:

1/A ceasefire in ‘Arab Saeed and Al-Roj Plain, and the removal of barriers and alerts between the two sides

2/ The brothers, the sons of Arab Saeed, to remain in the village with their personal weapons.

3/ Those who want to leave ‘Arab Saeed will get out with their personal weapons.

4/ The defendant brothers to be transferred to the al-Turkestan brothers to look into their case in the court.

5/ Close Hurras Bayet al-Din [The Guardians of Religion] headquarters in Arab Saeed and to pledge [Hurras al-Din members] not to set up checkpoints in the village.

From Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham From operations room Fa Ithboto

Abu Hafs Nibsh Abu Abdul al-Allah al-Suri

[Signature] [Signature]

5/11/1441