Page "Syrian Armed Forces" Paragraph 5

In 1963, the Military Committee of the Syrian Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba ' ath Party spent most of its time plannining to take power through a conventional military coup.

From the very beginning, the Military Committee knew it had to capture al-Kiswah and Qatana, two military camps, seize control of the 70th Armoured Brigade at al-Kiswah, the Military Academy in the city of Homs and the Damascus radio station.

While the conspirators of the Military Committee were all young, there aim was not out of reach ; the sitting regime had been slowly disintegrating and the traditional elite had lost effective political power over the country.

A small group of military officers, including Hafez al-Assad, soon seized control in the March 1963 Syrian coup d ' etat.

Following the coup, General Amin al-Hafiz discharged many ranking Sunni officers, thereby, Stratfor says, ' providing openings for hundreds of Alawites to fill top-tier military positions during the 1963-1965 period on the grounds of being opposed to Arab unity.

This measure tipped the balance in favor of Alawite officers who staged a coup in 1966 and for the first time placed Damascus in the hands of the Alawites.