Islamist uprising in Syria | |||||||
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A section of Hama, after the 1982 Hama Islamic uprising |
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Syrian government | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
Several hundred "hard-core" Islamists Thousands loosely armed supporters and sympathizers |
80,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
10,000+ | 1,000 Soldiers | ||||||
Total death toll unknown estimates vary to 5,000 – 40,000 killed |
Syrian government victory
Several hundred "hard-core" Islamists
The Islamist uprising in Syria were a series of revolts and armed insurgency by Sunni Islamists, mainly members of the Muslim Brotherhood from 1976 until 1982. The uprising was aimed against the authority of the secular Ba'ath Party-controlled government of Syria, in what has been called a "long campaign of terror". During the violent events Islamists attacked both civilians and off-duty military personnel, and civilians were also killed in retaliatory strike by security forces. The uprising had reached its climax in the 1982 Hama Islamic uprising.
The first clash between the secular Ba'ath party and the Islamist Brotherhood in Syria occurred shortly after the 1963 Ba'athist coup, in which the Ba'ath party gained power in Syria. From the start, Islamist political groups, of which the Brotherhood was the most prominent, represented the strongest opposition to the new government. The outlawing of the Brotherhood in 1964 resulted in its radicalization. In 1964 and 1965, strikes and mass demonstrations spread throughout Syria's major cities, especially in Hama, and were crushed by the military. The town of Hama in particular was a "stronghold of landed conservatism and of the Muslim Brothers," and "had long been a redoubtable opponent of the Ba'athist state."