Inter-Ba'athist conflict

The Inter-Ba'athist conflict refers to the conflict between the Syrian-led Ba'ath Party and its subgroups, and the Iraqi-led Ba'ath Party and its subgroups.

History

The conflict emerged after the Ba'ath Party split into two factions, that of Syria and that of Iraq, following the 1966 Syrian coup d'état where Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar were overthrown by Hafez al-Assad and Salah Jadid. In the 1970s, the two Ba'athist parties managed to reconcile, although the conflict erupted again as a result of the 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge in Iraq.

In 1980, when Saddam Hussein invaded Iran, leading to the Iran-Iraq war, the Syrian Ba'ath chose to ally with Iran, beginning a Syrian Baathist alliance with Shia Islamists, and an Iraqi Baathist alliance with the West and Sunni Islamists. Despite the Baath Party as a whole claiming to be secular, the conflict is partially rooted in sectarianism as the Iraqi Baath party was led by Sunnis, while the Syrian Baath party was led by Alawites. The Iraqi Baath Party supported the Muslim Brotherhood in their revolt against the Syrian Baath.

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