Iraq, 1995 — military coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an event coded as an attempted military coup in Iraq on 5 March 1995 against Saddam Hussein, part of the wave of plots and revolts that shook his regime in the mid 1990s, when Iraq was crippled by sanctions, defeat in the Gulf War, and the erosion of the army's loyalty. In this period disaffected officers, some linked to the powerful Sunni Dulaim tribe and to army units around Ramadi and Abu Ghraib, plotted against Saddam, their anger sharpened by the regime's execution of a prominent Dulaimi air force general accused of a coup plot, which sparked a tribal uprising. A coup attempt or military revolt in early 1995 arose from that disaffection and was crushed by Saddam's overlapping security services and Republican Guard, followed by brutal reprisals.
Saddam, a supreme survivor who had weathered countless plots by relying on his sprawling intelligence apparatus, tribal patronage, and ruthless preemptive purges, survived this challenge as he had the others. He clung to power despite further coup attempts, defections, and a major CIA backed plot in 1996, ruling Iraq until the United States led invasion overthrew him in 2003.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
64503051995
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Saddam Hussein crushed the March 1995 military revolt and its tribal backers, surviving through his security apparatus.
Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
Wall Street Journal
Irish Times
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →