1963 Jadid was promoted from Lieutenant colonel to Major general and named Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Syria. Downfall and death In 1970, when conflict erupted between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Jordanian army, Jadid sent Syrian-controlled Palestinian troops of the nominally PLO-run Palestine Liberation Army, based in Syria, into Jordan to aid the PLO. This decision was not supported by Assad's right-wing Ba'ath faction, and the troops withdrew. The action helped trigger a simmering conflict between Jadid's and Assad's factions within the Ba'ath Party and army. The Syrian Communist Party aligned itself with Jadid, drawing him the support of Soviet ambassador, Nuritdin Mukhitdinov. Angered by this, Assad decided to scare the Soviets by sending Mustafa Tlass to Beijing to procure arms and wave Chairman Mao's Little Red Book. In November 1970, Jadid tried to fire Assad and his supporter Mustafa Tlass. Assad responded by launching an intra-party coup dubbed the Corrective Movement. Jadid was arrested on 13 November 1970, and remained in the Mezzeh prison in Damascus until dying from a heart attack on 19 August 1993. References Bibliography 1926 births 1993 deaths Chiefs of Staff of the Syrian Army Homs Military Academy alumni Leaders ousted by a coup Leaders who took power by coup Members of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party Members of the National Command of the Ba'ath Party (Syrian-dominated faction) Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region People from Latakia Prisoners and detainees of Syria Syrian Alawites Syrian Arab nationalists Syrian generals Muslim socialists Heads of government who were later imprisoned