ALEPPO — Representatives of the Kurdish, Yazidi, Arab, Syriac and Assyrian tribes in northeast Syria agreed March 26 to establish a tribal judicial system — locally known as Madbata — for the resolution of inter-clan disputes, robberies, revenge and lootings in the Jazira region in Hasakah province. The House of Notables of North and East Syria convened the tribal meeting.

Activists in Hasakah shared on social media the text of the agreement. It says, “Some recent poor practices, such as thefts, robberies and roadblocks in the Jazira region, have prejudiced societal interests and relations." Eighteen Syrian tribes signed the agreement, including the Jabour, Baggara, Tayy, Sharabeen, Aqeedat, Mshehdeh, Maamrah, Dulaym, Waldah, Naim, Harb, Adwan, Khwetneh, Shumar, Adwan, Ubayd and Tufaihiyeen.

The agreement, which consists of four articles, further states that if a thief is killed after his guilt has been proven, his blood has been wasted and his clan shall not claim any compensation. It also calls for “working effectively and seriously with tribal elders and notables in the Syrian Jazira region to cancel the payment of blood money for accidental death.” It also provides that the tribes and clans shall seek to put an end to all forms of armed manifestations and strive for a decent life for all Syrians. 

Ahmad Ghannam, a tribal elder who signed the agreement, told Al-Monitor, “The Madbata consists of an ancient tribal tradition in the Jazira region. The first Madbata was set up in 1936 and consisted of a tribal court that developed tribal laws on blood money and the amount to be paid, the annulment or modification of some inherited customs and the resolution of tribal disputes and personal or group quarrels.”