Coup Atlas Research Database
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65207181963AttemptedMilitary coup

Syria, 1963 — military coup attempt

Syria (SYR)Western Asia, AsiaJuly 18, 1963

Event Summary

On 18 July 1963 the Nasserist colonel Jassem Alwan led a failed coup in Damascus against the Baathist Military Committee that had seized power in Syria in the March 1963 coup, in a daytime rising supported by the Arab Nationalist Movement and Egyptian intelligence. Alwan, who had helped make the March coup but grew disillusioned when the Baathists purged Nasserist officers and showed no real intent to restore union with Egypt, launched assaults on the Army General Headquarters and the Damascus radio station. The Baathist interior minister Amin al-Hafiz personally led the defense of the headquarters, and after intense fighting that killed hundreds, including civilian bystanders, the coup was crushed.

The Baath response was ferocious: some 27 conspirators were executed within days, and the failure destroyed remaining Nasserist influence in Syria, leaving the Baath Military Committee as the sole power center on the path to Hafez al-Assad's later dominance.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: The Baathist government under NCRC chairman Luay al-Atassi survived the coup; the failure entrenched Baath and later al-Hafiz rule
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Luay al-Atassi (NCRC chairman and head of state, nominal target)
Amin al-Hafiz (Baathist interior minister who led the defense)
Jassem Alwan (Nasserist colonel, coup leader)

Sources

On 18 July 1963 Nasserist officers in Syria unsuccessfully attempted to seize power from the Military Committee of the Baath Party, in a coup led by Colonel Jassem Alwan that killed dozens to hundreds of people.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, July 1963 Syrian coup attempt open source ↗
Alwan became disillusioned with the Baathist Military Committee and its lack of real desire for unification, and with support of Egyptian intelligence and the Arab Nationalist Movement launched daytime assaults on the Army General Headquarters and the broadcast station in Damascus.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Jassem Alwan open source ↗
The Baathist Interior Minister Amin al-Hafiz personally defended the army headquarters and the ensuing battle resulted in hundreds of casualties including civilian bystanders.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Jassem Alwan open source ↗
Shortly after the coup attempt 27 conspirators were executed, the failure of Alwan's revolt marked the end of significant Nasserist influence in Syria, and the Military Committee of the Baath Party became the sole power center of the country.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, July 1963 Syrian coup attempt open source ↗

Editorial Note

Date match, well documented. Follows the Syria 1962-03-31 record in batch 63 and the March 1963 Baath coup in the Syria arc. NCRC chairman al-Atassi resigned days later in favor of al-Hafiz over the executions.

Cross-Reference

Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
65207181963
Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-652-1963-07-18-2

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The Baathist government under NCRC chairman Luay al-Atassi survived the coup; the failure entrenched Baath and later al-Hafiz rule.

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
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

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963_Syrian_coup_d’%C3%A9tat

New York Times

“Syrian Army Puts Down A Rebellion by Nasse Rites: Pro-Nasser Rebellion in Syria Crushed by Government Troops Syria Plagued by Tensions Syrians Talk with Nasser,” July 19, 1963
“UNITY GETS NO PLACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Flare Up of Dispute Between Nasser and Baathists Shatters the Dream of Egypt-Syria-Iraq Union Three Stars Vituperative Questions Rigid Control Alternative to Nasser Open Warfare,” by Dana Adams Schmidt, July 28, 1963

Irish Times

“Coup Foiled in Syria,” July 19, 1963

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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