They have seen their people slaughtered, their communities terrorised and dispossessed and their ancestral lands laid to waste. Now, some of the most influential tribal leaders in Syria have come together to try to end the savage civil war that has afflicted their country.

They have formed a new tribal coalition and, The Independent can reveal, held secret talks with the UN’s special envoy for Syria and the US General who is Barack Obama’s representative to the rebels fighting against the Assad regime.

The tribal chiefs have also met ministers from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, key financial and military backers of the opposition, and are soon to meet King Abdullah of Jordan.

These leaders wield enormous influence and command the fealty of hundreds of thousands of Syrians through the extended clan system. At confidential talks to which they were invited with the UN envoy, Staffan de Mistura, two weeks ago in Geneva, 11 of their leaders were asked to help reach a peace deal with the Syrian government.

Damaged buildings in Jobar, a suburb of Damascus (Reuters)

Early last month, some of the same leaders were privately urged by General John Allen, the former US commander of Western forces in Afghanistan given the task of creating a viable fighting force from the moderate rebels, to enlist their tribal fighters in the battle against Isis. The US aim is to create a Syrian equivalent to the previous “Sunni Awakening” that turned the tide against al-Qaeda during the US occupation of Iraq.

But in exclusive interviews after they had formed a new “Coalition of Syrian Tribes and Clans”, the leaders said they were determined not to be manipulated by outside powers; foreign interference, they maintained, had been among the main causes of their country’s current malaise.

The US is not the only such foreign power, and others have different agendas. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states want them to confront President Bashar al-Assad as well as taking on Isis. Jordan has declared that it is willing to host training camps for moderate rebels, but the leaders say they will decide how to respond after they have met the King.

Syrian men walk amidst the rubble and debris in the Qadi Askar district of the northern city of Aleppo (Getty) (Getty Images)

Their aim, said Ayid al-Utayfi, head of the Utayfiat clan of the Annaza tribe, was to form a united front for planning strategy evolving from talks with General Allen, so that a common goal could be developed that does not pit one tribe against another. “From now on we want such discussions to take place with the Coalition we have formed,” he said. “That way there will be much less chance of divisions and suspicion.”

The tribal chiefs are not part of the exiled Syrian National Coalition, the Western-recognised government in exile, nor were they seeking to supplant it. Some of them still live in Syria but most have been driven into exile in neighbouring countries, either by the regime or by Isis.

Sunni tribal dynamics are a key factor in the course of the Syrian conflict. The leaders in Geneva were all opponents of the regime, but others, often from the same tribes, are loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Brothers and cousins can be on opposing sides but are often in regular touch with one another. Isis, too, has been assiduous in using the system, courting tribes and clans which had been marginalised by Syria’s ruling Baath party or whose members were angered at the exploitation of natural resources in their area, such as oil and gas, by the regime.

The leaders share suspicion of American intentions. “I spoke to General Allen’s people myself when they asked our fighters to join in the fight against Daesh [Isis],” Sheikh Ayid said. “The fact is that we have been fighting Daesh by ourselves and we had to do it without American support, without air cover.

“Why are they providing air cover to the Kurds and Shia fighters in Iraq and not us? We told the Americans that we will consider what they have to say when they give us equal treatment. But the dialogue will continue, we have not turned our backs on the Americans.”

He himself had lived in Palmyra, the town in which ancient artefacts are now being destroyed by Isis and its main Roman amphitheatre used as a place of murder with children as executioners. “Of course we want to protect our heritage, and Daesh will be pushed back,” he said. “But why didn’t the Americans bomb them when they made the advance on Palmyra? There has been no consultation with us on what they have been doing.”

Timeline: The emergence of Isis Show all 40 1 /40 Timeline: The emergence of Isis Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2000 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (pictured here) forms an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq, al-Qa’eda in Iraq. Its brutality from the beginning alienates Iraqis and many al-Qaeda leaders. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2006 Al-Zarqawi is killed in a U.S. strike. Al-Zarqawi’s successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announces the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2009 Still al-Qaeda-linked ISI claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 155 in Baghdad, as well as attacks in August and October killing 240, as President Obama announces troop withdrawal from Iraq in March. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes head of ISI, at lowest ebb of Islamist militancy in Iraq, which sees last U.S. combat brigade depart. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2012 In Syria, protests (pictured here starting in Daree) have morphed into what president Assad labelled a “real war” with emergence of a coalition of forces opposed to Assad’s regime. Syria group Jabhat al-Nusra are among rebel groups who refuse to join, denouncing it as a “conspiracy”. Bombings targeting Shia areas, killing more than 500 people, spark fears of new sectarian conflict. Sunni Muslims stage protests across country against what they see as increasingly marginalisation by Shia-led government. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2013 Al-Baghdadi renames ISI as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or Isis, as the group absorbs Syrian al-Nusra, gaining a foothold in Syria. In response, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri (Bin Laden’s successor) concerned about Isis’ expansion orders that Isis be dissolved and ISI operations should be confined to Iraq. This order is rejected by al-Baghdadi. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - January Isis fighters capture the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, giving them base to launch slew of attacks further south. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis declares itself the Caliphate, calling itself Islamic State (IS). The group captures Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city; Tal Afar, just 93 miles from Syrian border; and the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. These advances sent shockwaves around the world. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Around the same time Isis releases a video calling for western Muslims to join the Caliphate and fight, prompting new evaluations of extremists groups social media understanding. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis take Baiji oil fields in Iraq - giving them access to huge amounts of possible revenue. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August James Foley is executed by the group as concerns grow for second American prisoner, fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August Obama authorises U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, helping to stall Isis’ along with action by Kurdish forces following the deaths of hundreds of Yazidi people on Mount Sinjar. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release video showing Steven Sotloff’s murder prompting Western speculation his executioner is same man who killed Mr Foley. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Obama tells us that America “will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country” EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release a video appearing to show David Haines, who was captured by militants in Syria in 2013, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling in the desert while he reads a pre-prepared script. It later shows what appears to be the aid worker's body. Rex Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Peshmerga fighters scrabble to hold positions in the Diyala province (a gateway to Baghdad) as Isis fighters continue to advance on Iraqi capital. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Aid worker Alan Henning is killed. Self-imposed media blackout refuses to show images of him in final moments, instead focuses upon humanitarian care. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Isis raise their flag in Kobani, which had been strongly defended by Kurdish troops. The victory goes against hopeful western analysis Isis had overextended itself, while alienating much of the Muslim population through the murder of Henning. Victory causes fresh waves of Kurdish refugees arriving in Turkey. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - November American hostage, who embarced values of Islam, Peter Kassig and 14 Syrian soldiers are shown meeting the same fate as other captives. But intelligence agencies will be poring over the apparently significant discrepancies between this and previous films. Seramedig.org.uk Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis has released a video revealing the murder by burning to death of a Jordanian pilot held by the group since the end of December 2014. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have released videos which appear to show the beheading of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February American aid worker, Kayla Mueller was the last American hostage known to be held by Isis. She died, according to her captors, in an airstrike by the Jordanian air force on the city of Raqqa in Syria, though US authorities disputed this. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have posted a gruesome video online in which they force 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages to kneel on a beach in Libya before beheading them. Egypt vowed to avenge the beheading and launched air strikes on Isis positions. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February The British Isis militant suspected of appearing in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages has been named in reports as Mohammed Emwazi from London. Rex Features Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - March Isis triple suicide attack has killed more than 100 worshippers and hundreds of others were injured after the group members targeted two mosques in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Iraqi forces have claimed victory over Isis in battle for Tikrit and raised the flag in the city. EPA/STR Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people queuing to collect their wages and injured 100 more. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis’ media arm released a 29-minute video purporting to show militants executing Ethiopian Christians captives. The footage bore the extremist group’s al-Furqan media logo and showed the destruction of churches and desecration of religious symbols. A masked fighter made a statement threatening Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a special tax. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis has been "incapacitated" by a spinal injuries sustained in a US air strike in Iraq. He is being treated in a hideout by two doctors from Isis’ stronghold of Mosul who are said to be "strong ideological supporters of the group". Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis has also claimed responsibility for killing 300 of Yazidi captives, including women, children and elderly people in Iraq AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis attack on Prophet Mohamed cartoon contest in Texas was its first action on US soil. Two gunmen were shot and killed after launching the attack at the exhibition. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi have been named as the attackers at the Curtis Culwell Centre arena in Garland. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis’s deputy leader, Abu Alaa Afri, a former physics teacher who was thought to have taken charge of the deadly terrorist group, has been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May US special forces have killed a senior Isis leader named as Abu Sayyaf in an operation aiming to capture him and his wife in Syria. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Iran-backed militias are sent to Ramadi by the Iraqi government to fight Isis militants who completed their capture of the city. Government soldiers and civilians were reportedly massacred by extremists as they took control and the army fled. Charred bodies were left littering the city streets as troops clung on to trucks speeding away from the city. Ramadi is the latest government stronghold to fall to the so-called Islamic State, despite air strikes by a US-led international coalition aiming to stop its advance in Iraq and Syria. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis rounded up civilians trapped in Palmyra and forced them to watch 20 people being executed in the historic city’s ancient amphitheatre. The Unesco World Heritage site was overrun by militants, threatening the future of 2,000 year-old monuments and ruins. Thousands of Palmyra’s residents fled but many are still living within the city walls, while the UN human rights office in Geneva said it had received reports of Syrian government forces preventing people from leaving until they retreated from the city. Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May A group of Isis-affiliated fighters have captured a key airport in central Libya. The militants took control of the al-Qardabiya airbase in Sirte after a local militia tasked with defending the facility withdrew from their positions. Affiliates of Isis, already control large parts of Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and a former stronghold of his supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June The US Air Force has destroyed an Isis stronghold after an extremist let slip their location on social media. According the Air Force Times, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said that Airmen at Hulburt Field, Florida, used images shared by jihadists to track the location of their headquarters before destroying it in an airstrike. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Kurdish forces captured a key military base in a significant victory in Raqqa as well as town of Tell Abyad. YPG fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels, consolidated their gains, when they seized the key town on the Syria-Turkey border. They are now just 30 miles to the north of Raqqa and have cut off a major supply route deep inside Isis-held territory. Ahmet Silk/Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has released gruesome footage claiming to show the murder of more than a dozen men by drowning, decapitation and using a rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks to boost morale among its fanatical supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has begun carrying out its threat to destroy structures in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up at least two monuments at the Unesco-protected site as Syrian government troops made advances on the Islamist’s positions. AFP

More generally, the sheikhs complain that the Americans are asking the tribes to fight Isis while only paying lip service to taking on the Assad regime. They maintain this is because Barack Obama needs the Iranians, President Assad’s main backers, to help fight Isis in Iraq, and is also seeking to make nuclear agreement with Tehran.

“The US has to save Iraq after the mess they created there and President Obama wants the nuclear deal with Iran as his legacy,” said Alsheikh Irhiman Kawan Ajbara, of the Ougaidat tribe. “The ones being sacrificed for this are the Syrians. But it was the sectarian policies of the Nouri al-Maliki [the former Shia Prime Minister of Iraq] and Assad which has created this terrible situation.

“My fellow sheikhs and I have the support of around 300,000 people each from our direct tribes, and many more from the extended clans and sub-clans. We realise that we have a responsibility to act. If the regime wants peace then of course we will discuss that, but we have seen no sign that the regime is serious about talking.”

The leaders are critical of the UN envoy, Mr de Mistura, for being slow to condemn regime atrocities, such the use of barrel-bombs, and say that local truces he has arranged have been used by the regime to seize back territory. He was also criticised for saying that Assad was still “part of the solution” in Syria, something regarded as anathema by the opposition.

Senior tribal leaders Alsheikh Irhiman Kawan Ajbara, left, and Sheikh Akram Al-Sayad

Sheikh Hashem Sulaiman al-Jarba said: “We were disappointed with what Mr de Mistura had to say and with what he has done so far. He needs to be much tougher with the regime.”

However their newly-elected chairman, Sheikh Saleh al Tahan al-Nuaimi, head of a tribe based near Israel in south-west Syria, said progress had been made.