Coup Atlas Research Database
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65212261956ConspiracyDissident coup

Syria, 1956 — dissident coup conspiracy

Syria (SYR)Western Asia, AsiaDecember 26, 1956

Event Summary

The dataset records an event coded as a dissident conspiracy with forced resignation in Syria on 26 December 1956, in the aftermath of the exposure of Operation Straggle, the Anglo-American plot to overthrow the leftist, pro-Nasser Syrian government. Through 1956 the CIA and British MI6, working with Iraqi, Jordanian, and Lebanese intelligence and internal Syrian conspirators, planned to provoke internal disturbances and border incidents as a pretext for Iraqi military intervention and the installation of a pro-Western government aligned with the Baghdad Pact. The plot, scheduled for late October 1956, was disrupted by the Suez Crisis and then uncovered by Syrian counterintelligence under Colonel Abdel Hamid Sarraj, leading to a wave of arrests of Syrian conspirators and a purge of pro-Western politicians and officers that continued through late December 1956.

The coded 26 December 1956 conspiracy fits the exposed Straggle plot and its aftermath, which strengthened the leftist and Baathist bloc.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: The exposed plot was crushed and its discovery strengthened the pro-Nasser leftist bloc in Syria
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
The leftist, pro-Nasser Syrian government (target of the plot)
CIA and British MI6 (foreign sponsors of Operation Straggle)
Colonel Abdel Hamid Sarraj (Syrian counterintelligence chief who exposed it)

Sources

Working with the US, Operation Straggle was an ambitious British-backed plot to promote a coup in Damascus using Turkish border incidents, Iraqi agitation, and infiltration by the Parti Populaire Syrien.
SOURCE REVIEWED Mark Curtis, British plans to overthrow the Syrian government 1956-7 open source ↗
The CIA provided 150,000 dollars to the conspirators, but Syrian counterintelligence uncovered Straggle, which had been postponed to coincide with the British-backed Israeli invasion of Sinai.
SOURCE REVIEWED COAT, Syria: Early Experiments in Covert Action open source ↗
Early in 1956 the CIA plan initially called for the use of the Iraqi Army and then shifted focus to agents within Syria, with a takeover scheduled for 25 October 1956.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, CIA activities in Syria open source ↗
Ultranationalist and leftist demonstrations broke out after the Suez invasion and continued intermittently until late December 1956, amid the fallout over the exposed plot.
SOURCE REVIEWED U.S. State Department, FRUS 1955-57 vol. XII open source ↗

Editorial Note

The coded 26 December 1956 falls in the late-December aftermath of the exposed Operation Straggle plot; the forced-resignation coding reflects the purge of pro-Western figures that followed. Recorded as verified context for the discovered Anglo-American conspiracy. Pairs with the earlier Syria records.

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
65212261956

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The exposed plot was crushed and its discovery strengthened the pro-Nasser leftist bloc in Syria.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. 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
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
Open dataset DOI ↗
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

New York Times

“SYRIAN ACCUSES BRITISH Defendant Tells Court They Encouraged Revolt Plot,” January 14, 1957

Irish Times

“Former Dictator of Syria on trial,” January 9, 1957

New York Herald Tribune

“Syria declares Britain and France plotted coup,” December 27, 1956

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 →

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Related Records

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