"This is like a test-run of decentralisation. If it works well, maybe it can be implemented in other regions."
[Rojava Information Center] RIC spoke to Aleppo journalist Hamude [on April 4] about the new agreement signed by the civil council of DAANES' [Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria’s] Aleppo neighborhoods and the Syrian Caretaker Government (SCG) committee tasked with implementing March's SDF [Syrian Defence Forces]-Damascus deal.
The Kurdish-majority Aleppo neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh are geographically disconnected from the rest of North East Syria but administratively are affiliated to the DAANES. Hamude, who lives in Sheikh Maqsoud, told RIC that the agreement "is not a long-term thing". Rather, it is a temporary deal until a wider agreement between the SDF and SCG can be reached and implemented.
The deal reads:
"1. The Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, inhabited by a Kurdish majority, are considered neighborhoods of Aleppo city and are administratively affiliated with it. Protecting and respecting the social and cultural privacy of the residents of these two neighborhoods is essential to promoting peaceful coexistence.
2. The provisions of this interim agreement will apply until the joint central committees agree on a sustainable solution.
3. The [Damascus] Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the [NES] Internal Security Forces, is responsible for protecting the residents of the two neighborhoods and preventing any attacks or harassment against them.
4. To preserve civil peace and the safety of civilians, armed manifestations are prohibited in the two neighborhoods, and weapons are the exclusive domain of the Internal Security Forces of the Interior Ministry in the two neighborhoods.
5. Earthworks [barricades] will be removed from public roads, while the main checkpoints will remain in place, under the supervision of the Internal Security Forces, until security and stability are restored in the two neighborhoods.
6. Military forces will withdraw with their weapons from the two neighborhoods to the area east of the Euphrates.
7. Two Internal Security centers will be established in each of the Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods.
8. Freedom of movement will be guaranteed for residents of the two neighborhoods, and the prosecution of anyone who was wanted before the agreement and whose hands were not stained with Syrian blood will be prohibited.
9. A coordination committee will be formed to facilitate movement between the city of Aleppo and the NES region.
10. Committees will be formed in the two neighborhoods to implement the agreement on the ground.
11. Civil institutions in the two neighborhoods will work in coordination with other civil institutions, providing services to them without discrimination from other Aleppo neighborhoods through the two municipal branches located in the neighborhoods.
12. Prisons will be cleared by both parties in Aleppo Governorate, and all prisoners captured after the liberation will be exchanged.
13. The two neighborhoods are granted the right to full and fair representation in the Aleppo Provincial Council, as well as in the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and other relevant fields, in accordance with applicable laws.
14. The existing service, administrative, and educational institutions, municipalities, and local councils in the two neighborhoods shall be maintained until the joint central committees agree on a sustainable solution."
"There are two primary points of this agreement," Hamude explained.
"One is security, the other is services. Security-wise, the [NES] Asayish remain as before. The checkpoints around the neighborhood also are unchanged and this work continues as previously — but they now have to be in coordination with the Aleppo branch of the Interior Ministry of the Damascus government.
“From the services side, institutions like the municipality, court, hospital, and others, have to coordinate with those [Damascus-linked] central institutions in the city of Aleppo. Chiefly, this means there is no division in the city."
Yesterday [April 3], implementation of point 12 of the deal began. A prisoner swap reportedly saw 147 SDF personnel released by the SCG and 97 individuals from the SCG's forces released by the SDF, in what is being described as the first batch of several.
Today, a YPG [Peoples Protection Units] and YPJ [Women’s Protection Units] military convoy departed from Sheikh Maqsoud and headed back to NES, escorted by SCG forces, marking the start of the implementation of point 6 of the agreement.
[Reprinted from a thread on .]