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Resisting Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham

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Resisting Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham RESISTING HAYAT TAHRIR AL-SHAM Syrian Civil Society on the Frontlines by Haid Haid CONTENT Editorial 3 Summary 4 01 Introduction 5 02 Restrictions imposed on civil society 6 03 Nonviolent resistance strategies against Hayat 9 Tahrir al-Sham 04 Using governance and services as tools 12 of resistance 16 05 The role of peaceful resistance in the context of armed confrontations with HTS 18 06 Conclusion: Applying lessons learned 20 About the Author 20 Acknowledgments EDITORIAL إدلب IDLIB Idlib, a north-western province of Syria, is a rural area and was considered one of the poorest and most conservative regions of the country before the war. In recent years, ATARIB أتارب thousands of civilians and militants from all parts of Syria have been displaced to Idlib under so-called „evacuation Atarib, located some 25 kilometers west of the city of agreements“. Three out of four people in the region today Aleppo, serves as a strategic transport hub between the are dependent on humanitarian aid. city of Aleppo, the northern countryside of the neighboring Idlib governorate, and the Bab al-Hawa border crossing on the Syrian–Turkish border. Starting in 2013, scores of Syrian By contrast, this study dares to fo- cities fell under the control of radi- cus on a detailed close-up: The “big cal Islamist groups such as the Al- picture” is set aside for a clear view Nusra Front or the “Islamic State on local political disputes. That (IS)”. Some cities, however, succee- renders differentiation a necessity. ded in warding off the attempts of This analysis reveals that the milita- QAMISHLIjihadist groups at expanding their ry dominance of a militia in an area territories. Moreover, their success does not necessarily mean that the SARAQIB can evidently not be attributed to militia also exerts political pow­­er رساقب Saraqib is a city in northwestern Syria military factors alone: Wide parts over that territory. And it demonst- located east of Idlib. It serves as a strategic of the populations of Atarib and rates that, as disconcerting as it may transport hub between the city of Maarat Al-Nu’man, for instance, sound to some, terror organisations Aleppo and different provinces such as rose to demonstrate against the are not alike. While the Hayat Tah- Turkey Idlib, Hama, Homs and Damascus. attempted takeovers of jihadist mi- rir al-Sham militia (HTS) at the litias – who were indeed eventually centre of this study shares the black ALEPPO coerced into retreat. flag, a gruelling jihadist ideology ATARIB Why were civilians in these cities and its roots in al-Qaida with the IDLIB driven to protest, while hardly any so-called “Islamic State”, they differ resistance against jihadist militias in many respects – particularly with SARAQIB emerged elsewhere? What role is regard to their strategies for seizing bestowed on civil society in the power and their treatment of the MAARAT AL NU‘MAN movement to fend off radical Isla- civilian population. KAFRANBEL mist takeover attempts? What role These subtle differences not only LATAKIA do civil administrative structures generate greater complexity but play? Which circumstances and also draw attention to new strate- MAARAT AL-NU’MAN -what kind of support are required gies against jihadist terror. The ana معرة النعامن Maarat al-Nu’man is a city in northwestern for civil players to put up a fight lysis devised by Syrian author Haid Syria located at the highway between against fundamentalist militias in Haid reveals: If only the political Aleppo and Hama. The city is known for their localities? will existed, nonviolent strategies Syria its resistance to HTS forces, despite the This study, conducted by Syrian of conflict transformation could at military victory of the latter against the local author Haid Haid, is to be under- least serve to contain the expansion armed group Division 13. stood not as an ultimate answer to of extremist militias. And Syrian these questions, but rather as an civil society can and must fulfil a initial exploration which seeks to vital role in such a process. intro duce a much needed new per- spective. This becomes necessary Adopt a Revolution team given that the analyses and debates established in Germany, when it comes to the Middle East and the “War on Terror”, oftentimes remain depressingly superficial. It is fre- quently insinuated that the popu- -lation is comprised of neatly defi كفرنبل KAFRANBEL ned monolithic blocks such as “the Kafranbel is a small town in Idlib’s southern countryside. Kurds”, “the Arabs” or “the Sunnis” It has become known for its banners which attempt to instead of politically thinking and address different political and military dynamics through acting individuals. The role of local witty and sarcastic messages. civilian and civil-society stakehol- ders is therefore often neglected – ERBIN usually in favour of dissolute geo- political digressions. Page 2. adopt a revolution Page 3. adopt a revolution SUMMARY 01 INTRODUCTION In the absence of a convenient military option in the face of HTS which can defeat 1 Despite HTS’ limited public use In the province of Idlib and the To this end, HTS has attempted to This paper aims to contribute to of violence, especially in compar- west of rural Aleppo, Hayat Tahrir take total control of civilian affairs fostering a better understanding 01the group and gain local support, civil resistance seems to be the best option avai l- ison to ISIS, it has been using able. Such a struggle relies on mixed methods that allow locals to organize themselves and other forms of violence such as al-Sham’s (HTS) control has signif- through an initiative titled ‘The of the role that local Syrian civil disrupt the patterns of cooperation and obedience as well as human and material resources threats, intimidation, detention, icantly risen since the beginning of Civil Administration for Services’, society groups can play in resisting torture etc. 2017. Following the recent defeat of a civilian wing to govern rebel-held extremist groups such as HTS in that HTS depends on in order to contain the group and weaken its legitimacy and support 2 Haid, H. (2017), ‘Local Com- Ahrar al-Sham in July 2017, which areas and to oversee or replace local Syria. To achieve that, it analyses base. Local communities, after all, are the main actors that can enable HTS to flourish or munity Resistance to Extremist until then was perceived as the big- councils 3 and civil society organi- the restrictions imposed by HTS bring it to an end. Groups in Syria: Lessons from gest rebel group, HTS has become sations (CSOs) 4. on the work of civil society orga- Atarib’, Chatham House, June 2017, https://www.chatham- by far the most powerful military nisations and activists in areas HTS The restrictions imposed by HTS on civil society work depend largely on how influ- house.org/publication/local- group in northern Syria without To legitimize its civilian front, HTS controls or has a presence in. This community-resistance-extremist- much contest. However, the group reached out to well-known revolu- paper then examines the different 02 ential HTS is in the respective area and the type of work being carried out. Humani- groups-syria-lessons-atarib (accessed 21 July 2017). seems to be struggling to match its tionary figures, religious scholars tactics deployed by Syrian civil so- tarian organisations are allowed to operate in areas controlled by HTS. But such permissions military gains with a similar level of and community leaders requesting ciety groups in the context of both come with enforced requirements, such as imposed taxation (atawat) on organisations pro- 3 Local administration councils are community support in the territo- them to join the newly establis- peaceful and armed resistance to created by local actors to serve viding aid. As for civil society organisations, HTS does not seem to completely forbid them. as an alternative to the Syrian ries it controls or operates in. That hed Civil Administration. Most HTS. Finally, it attempts to con- Such activities, however, are tolerated only under strict conditions and are subject to close regime. They are in charge of became apparent when locals in of those individuals rejected HTS’ tribute to the ongoing discussion running opposition-held areas and many areas, notably in Maarat al- invita tion due to ideological dif- about how to deal with areas under monitoring. Furthermore, civil society work is easier in areas where HTS has limited influence. providing public services to local populations. Nu’man, Atarib and Saraqib, took ferences as well as HTS’ violations HTS influence as well as the civil to the streets demonstrating against and practices. Notably, while some society groups and local governing The nonviolent resistance strategies deployed against HTS are similar to the ones 4 In this research paper, ‘civil HTS attacks and projecting their of the above mentioned figures bodies that operate inside them. used against both the Syrian regime and ISIS. Organising demonstrations and public society’ is used in a broad sense 03 to refer to activists, local move- unwillingness to cave in to HTS’ have always resisted HTS influence, events is the most popular tactic. A more passive war of logos and slogans also usually takes ments and initiatives, local relief authority. others have even started to actively Central to the research for this organisations, governing bodies express their ideological disagree- paper is a set of semi-structured place in the background to achieve a symbolic and visual supremacy. Likewise, satire is one and local organisations working in of the main tools that activists have at their disposal to undermine HTS and its legitimacy. the public sphere. Despite isolated violent incidents ment with the group as they fear interviews with 10 Syrian civil soci- against locals where the latter were the prospect of suffering a similar ety groups.
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