The attack by the Turkish-backed 'Syrian National Army' (SNA) on areas east of the Euphrates held by the 'Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF) has understandably provoked a large amount of international media and social media attention. Unsurprisingly, much of this attention focuses on whether SNA elements are committing abuses and human rights violations.

Of course, the SNA is well aware of this problem, and accordingly its Guidance Directorate recently issued a 'code of conduct' document for the SNA and the internal security forces. I have translated this 'code of conduct' in full.

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Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant faction in Idlib and its environs, has a public relations department designed to deal with relations with the populace in areas under its control. This public relations administration includes complaints offices, about which an advertisement was recently shared on HTS' online networks.

"Notification issued by the Public Relations Administration:

The Public Relations Administration affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham announces the receipt of general complaints from our dear people on the following accounts:

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The Sahel region of West Africa has seen a growing problem with jihadist insurgency, with al-Qa'ida's affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen ('Group to Support Islam and Muslims'- JNIM) and the Islamic State's West Africa affiliate representing the primary threats.

JNIM's media wing al-Zalaqa Media has released a new speech by JNIM amir Iyad Ghali, in which he commends recent JNIM attacks against troops of the regional states and the French forces supporting those states. He also congratulates Somalia's al-Qa'ida affiliate al-Shabaab for an attack it conducted against a base used by the Americans in the East African country.

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As I noted previously, some of the factions of the Turkish-backed 'Syrian National Army"(SNA) are older groups, and some are newer formations. Like Division 20, the Men of War Brigade (Liwa Rijal al-Harb) is a newer group. The Men of War Brigade operates within the Second Legion of the SNA and has been participating in the 'Peace Spring' operations against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

On 6 November 2019 CE, I interviewed the deputy commander of the Men of War Brigade about the group. Any parenthetical insertions in square brackets are my own.

Q: When was the Men of War Brigade formed and what was its origin exactly?

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The north Latakia front has witnessed intense fighting recently between Syrian government forces and the rebels. Among the forces participating on the government side is the 313 Force, which is part of the Local Defence Forces and tied to the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Recently, the 313 Force lost a fighter on this front called Abd al-Salam Ja'afar (Abu Ja'afar). I will document some of his life in this post.

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