 The coup began on 21 February 1966 when Umran tested his authority as Minister of Defence by ordering the transfer of three key Jadid supporters ; Major @-@ General Ahmad Suwaydani , Colonel Izzad Jadid and Major Salim Hatum . The Military Committee would respond the next day , but before that it staged a ruse which threw the National Command off balance . The ruse was that Abd al @-@ Ghani Ibrahim , the Alawi commander of the front facing Israel , reported to headquarters that a quarrel had broken out among front @-@ line officers , and that guns had been used . Umran , al @-@ Hafiz and the Chief of Staff left for the Golan Heights in a hurry for a lengthy discussion with the officer corps there ; when they returned at 3 am on 23 February they were exhausted . Two hours later , at 5 am , Jadid launched his coup . Not long after , the attack on al @-@ Hafiz 's private residence began , led by Salim Hatum and Rifaat al @-@ Assad , and supported by a squadron of tank units led by Izzad Jadid . Despite a spirited defence , Hafiz 's forces surrendered after all their ammunition was spent – Hafiz 's daughter lost an eye in the attacks . The commander of al @-@ Hafiz 's bodyguard , Mahmud Musa , was nearly killed by Izzad Jadid , but was saved and smuggled out of Syria by Hatum . There was resistance outside Damascus . In Hama , Tlass was forced to send forces from Homs to quell the uprising , while in Aleppo Aflaq loyalists briefly controlled the radio station and some resistance was reported in Latakia and Deir ez @-@ Zor . After their military defeats , resistance all but collapsed – Razzaz was the only National Command member to put up any organised resistance after the military defeats , issuing statements against the government from his different hiding places . 
