1966 Syrian coup d'état

In the 1966 Syrian coup d'état (21–23 February), the government of the Syrian Arab Republic was overthrown by a union of the Ba'ath Party's Military Committee and the Syrian Regional Branch under Salah Jadid. The coup climaxed a power struggle between the party's old guard, represented by Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and radical neo-Ba'athist factions. After violent fighting in Aleppo, Damascus, Deir ez-Zor, and Latakia, the party's historical founders fled the country and spent the rest of their lives in exile.