19 Facts About Jassem Alwan

Jassem Alwan was a Syrian military officer and prominent military figure in Syria in the early 1960s.

Jassem Alwan rose to prominence during the period of the United Arab Republic when he served as the Commander of the Qatana Base near Damascus.

Jassem Alwan participated in the Baathist-led 8 March coup that toppled President Nazim al-Qudsi in 1963, but after a Baathist attempt to purge Nasserist officers from the military, Alwan led an insurrection against the new government.

Jassem Alwan's aborted counter-coup was a significant episode leading to the deterioration of ties between the governments of Egypt and Syria.

Jassem Alwan was born to a Sunni Muslim family of Bedouin origins in 1928 in the city of Deir ez-Zor, located along the Euphrates River in eastern Syria.

When Syria and Egypt merged to form the United Arab Republic in 1958, Jassem Alwan became a high-ranking officer in the army, serving in the position of commander of the Qatana Base, located outside of Damascus.

Jassem Alwan had not been at his base on that day, instead participating in a mission in Damascus city.

Jassem Alwan opposed the secessionist government of President Nazim al-Kudsi, which gained power following the coup, but the authorities did not arrest or purge him for fear of being accused of betraying the still-popular cause of Arab nationalism represented by Nasser, of whom Jassem Alwan was a staunch ally.

Jassem Alwan's forces launched daytime assaults on the Army General Headquarters and the broadcast station in Damascus.

Jassem Alwan's operation ended in major bloodshed and at least 27 participating officers were arrested and executed.

The failure of Jassem Alwan's revolt marked the end of significant Nasserist influence in Syria's military and civilian institutions and with the pro-Nasser forces largely defeated, the Military Committee of the Ba'ath Party became the sole power center of the country.

Jassem Alwan was given asylum in Egypt by Nasser where he continued his activities against the Baathist government in Syria.

Jassem Alwan became Secretary-General of the Arab Socialist Union's Syrian branch.

Later, after Amin al-Hafiz, who had succeeded Lu'ay al-Atassi as president, was overthrown by a regionalist faction of the Ba'ath Party led by Salah Jadid and Hafez al-Assad in February 1966, Jassem Alwan eventually joined Hafiz, his former enemy, to establish a diverse coalition of dissidents opposed to the ruling Baathists of Syria.

In November 1984, Jassem Alwan attended a conference of the Palestinian National Council, leading a delegation of 13 NALS coalition members.

Iraqi funding for the dissident coalition's members in Egypt, like Jassem Alwan, ended as a result of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's participation in the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991.

The honorary status and the diplomatic passport Jassem Alwan held in Egypt were subsequently cancelled, but he continued to live in Cairo.

Jassem Alwan eventually returned to Syria in April 2005, during the presidency of Bashar al-Assad, after personal intervention by former Syrian defense minister, Mustafa Tlass.

Jassem Alwan was greeted ceremoniously at the Damascus International Airport and was then escorted to the Cham Hotel in the city.