Profile: Liwa' al-Shamal (SNA)
This profile is currently available to free subscribers, though it will be paywalled after three weeks. At some point in the future this type of post will be subscriber-only.
Shout out to Sol on Twitter for their assistance in some of the pre-2016 research.
Liwa’ al-Shamal - لواء الشمال
‘Brigade of the North’
Basic information:
Founded in January 2016 as an Aleppo-based Faylaq al-Sham affiliate. Split with Faylaq al-Sham in May 2017
A member of the SNA since its founding on December 30 2017, affiliated with the First Legion
Took part in Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield (2016), Operation Olive Branch (2018), and Operation Peace Spring (2019).
Size estimate: small, under 1,000 fighters
Primarily active on the Jarabulus-Manbij front lines with the SDF and in Afrin city
Not to be confused with SDF-affiliated Liwa’ al-Shamal al-Dimuqrati
Leadership:
Rami al-Qoujah, aka Capt. Mustafa Abu Muhammed al-Shuyoukhi
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc656179a-a0c5-4d69-b027-6c7e958fe409_1600x1066.jpeg)
Was the commander of “Katibat al-Shuyoukh,” a small opposition faction active in the Aleppo suburbs that took part in the battle for Regiment 46 base of late 2012.
This is not yet confirmed as written sources are scarce and video quality is poor, but it appears that Rami al-Qoujah was the commander of Liwa’ Maghawir al-Islam - a founding constituent group of Faylaq al-Sham active in battles around Aleppo city. The formation of Faylaq al-Sham was announced in March 2014, while an individual who resembles al-Qoujah and is described as the group’s commander appears in Maghawir al-Islam videos as early as May 2014.
May 2014 (source) June 2014 in the blue shirt (source) July 2014 (source) Possibly the Capt. Mustafa Abu Muhammed of Faylaq al-Sham interviewed by Al-Jazeera in December 2015 for an article on the first months of the Russian air campaign.
Reportedly was the commander of the SNA 1st Division at its founding in May 2021.
Was the director of Hay’at Tha’iroun lil-Tahrir’s Security Administration and a member of its ‘Command Council’
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to This Week in Northern Syria to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.