Houran Ceasefire

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Country/entity: Syria
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name: Houran Ceasefire
Date: 23 Dec 2014
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: House of Justice in Houran
Third parties: al-Muthanna Islamic Movement
Description: Four point-agreement providing for a ceasefire between armed factions in Houran, southern Syria.

Agreement document: SY_141223_HouranCeasefire_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF
Agreement document (original language): SY_141223_HouranCeasefire_AR.pdf (opens in new tab)| Download PDF

Local agreement properties

Process type: Isolated example
Rationale: The dispute was settled by a pre-established and structured judicial body (house of justice in Houran). According to source, the dispute was mediated by an independant Islamist faction. Yet, this is an isolated example of local peace process between the two belligerents (Jabhat al Nusra and Liwa Shuhada al-Yarmouk).
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. The two disputing factions are Salafist groups opposed to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and reject the national peace process that would maintain the Syrian president in power.
Name of Locale: Houran
Nature of Locale: Region
GPS Lat/Long (DD): 32.823701, 35.931560
Participant type: Other
Mediator, facilitator or similar: Mediator or similar referred to
Mediator (references): Page 1, This is the best and fairest resolution) and after the conflicting parties in the Yarmouk river region approved the initiative presented by the al-Muthanna Islamic Movement
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
Praise be to God and prayers and peace be upon Messenger of God, and after:
According to the words of the Almighty: (O believers! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. Should you disagree on anything, then refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you ˹truly˺ believe in Allah and the Last Day.

Page 1, God is the Arbiter of Success
Grievance List: Although the agreement does not refer to specific causes of the conflict, it lists four provisions to address local grievances between armed factions around Yarmouk river. It seems that the confrontation between Jabhat al-Nusra and Liwa Shuhada al-Yarmouk lies at the centre of the dispute.
Cattle rustling/banditry: No specific mention.
Social cover: No specific mention.

House of Justice in Houran

No. 12 [stamp]

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

Praise be to God and prayers and peace be upon Messenger of God, and after:

According to the words of the Almighty:

(O believers!

Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.

Should you disagree on anything, then refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you ˹truly˺ believe in Allah and the Last Day.

This is the best and fairest resolution) and after the conflicting parties in the Yarmouk river region approved the initiative presented by the al-Muthanna Islamic Movement,

The factions operating in Houran adopt this initiative and pledge to implement it.

The House of Justice court decided the following:

First:

The conflicting factions are required to immediately cease the fire.

Second:

It requires all the conflicting factions to return to the points of guarding [defending] with the criminal regime and remove all the barriers that have occurred.

Third:

The House of Justice takes over all the checkpoints in the Yarmouk river to ensure the implementation of the House of Justice’s decision.

Fourth:

The implementation of this decision shall start from its date, and in the event that one of the parties does not abide by this decision, it will be considered an offender, and all factions are committed to oblige it to this decision.

God is the Arbiter of Success

Written in 23/12/2014

House of Justice in Houran

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