 Instead of trying to win the support of the populace , the Ba 'athists moved to consolidate their control over the Syrian military . Several hundred Nasserites and conservatives were purged from the military , and Ba 'athists were recruited to fill senior positions . Most of the newly recruited Ba 'athist officers came from the countryside or from a low social class . These Ba 'athist officers replaced the chiefly " urban Sunni upper @-@ middle and middle class " officer corps , and replaced it with an officer corps with a rural background who more often the " kinsmen of the leading minority officer " . These changes led to the decimation of Sunni control over the military establishment . 
