Islamist uprising in Syria | |||||||
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Part of the Arab Cold War | |||||||
A destroyed section of Hama's old town, after the 1982 Hama massacre | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Fighting Vanguard[1][2] Muslim Brotherhood (after mid-1979)[3][4] Supported by: Iraq (1980–1982) Jordan[5][6] West Germany[7] |
Supported by: Soviet Union[8][9] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
Estimated deaths vary between 10,000 and 40,000[11] |
The Islamist uprising in Syria comprised a series of protests, assassinations, bombings, and armed revolts led by Sunni Islamists, mainly members of the Fighting Vanguard and, after 1979, the Muslim Brotherhood, from 1976 until 1982. The uprising aimed to establish an Islamic republic in Syria by overthrowing the Ba'athist government, in what has been described by Ba'ath Party as a "long campaign of terror".[12]
After 1980, the popular resistance to Ba'athist rule expanded, with a coalition of Islamist opposition groups coordinating nation-wide strikes, protests and revolts throughout Syria.[13] During the violent events, resistance militias attacked Syrian Arab Army bases and carried out political assassinations of Ba'ath party cadres, army officials, Soviet military advisors, and bureaucrats linked to Assad family.[14][15][9] Civilians were also killed in retaliatory strikes conducted by security forces.[16] The uprising reached its climax in the 1982 Hama massacre, during which the Syrian government killed over 40,000 civilians.[17][18]
Another reason for West Germany to oppose Asad [sic] was his involvement in international terrorism, such as the RAF (Baader Meinhof Gang) clique and the "Movement 2nd of June – Tupamaros West Berlin"... West Germany, as an ally in the anti-Soviet camp, had a reason to support the Brotherhood in Syria and to provide them a safe exile in Germany as a place from where they could continue their attempts to overthrow Asad [sic], in order to weaken the Soviet bloc... Three ways how West Germany supported the Syrian Brotherhood.. It provided asylum and a save haven from where the exile-brotherhood could organise its struggle against Asad [sic], it protected them against attacks of Syrian intelligence, and West German newspapers reported about the Hama incident in a way that supported the aims of the Brotherhood.