1979 Ba'ath Party Purge

1979 Ba'ath Party Purge
Comrades Massacre

Syrian president Hafez al-Assad (centre) with Iraqi vice president Saddam Hussein (left), Algerian foreign minister Abdelaziz Bouteflika (right), and Syrian vice president Abdul Halim Khaddam (far right, half-covered) at the 1978 Arab League summit in Baghdad.
Date	22 July 1979
Location	Ba'athist Iraq
Also known as	Khuld Hall Incident, Comrades Massacre
Type	Purge
Cause	Failure of unity talks between Syrian and Iraqi Ba'ath Parties Saddam's claim that he has discovered a fifth column in the Revolutionary Command Council plotting to overthrow the party leadership in co-ordination with Hafez al-Assad
Organised by	Saddam Hussein
Outcome	Killing of former Secretary Muhyi Abdul-Hussein Mashhadi on 8 August 1979 Saddam Hussein's domination of the Ba'ath Party Arrests and subsequent killings of Ba'athist opponents accused of Syrian collaboration Deepening rift between Iraq-based and Syrian-based Ba'ath movements Hafez al-Assad's support to Iran during the Iran–Iraq War
Deaths	21 executed
Arrests	68

This article is part of a series about Saddam Hussein
Personal Early life Saddamism Ba'athist Iraq Family Uday Qusay Raghad Rana Sajida Talfah Affiliations Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party Iraq-based Ba'ath Party Revolutionary Command Council Political offices President of Iraq (1979–2003) Prime Minister of Iraq (1979–1991, 1994–2003) Vice President of Iraq (1968–1979) Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council (1979–2003) Regional Secretary of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party (1964–1966, 1979–2006) Secretary General of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party (1992–2006) Rise to power 1959 Mosul uprising Ramadan Revolution 17 July Revolution First Iraqi–Kurdish War Yom Kippur War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War 1974–75 Shatt al-Arab conflict 1975 Algiers Agreement 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge Presidency Iran–Iraq War Iraqi invasion of Iran Dujail massacre Anfal campaign Halabja massacre Iraqi invasion of Kuwait Gulf War missile attacks on Israel missile attacks on U.S. bases in Saudi Arabia 1991 Iraqi uprisings 1999 Shia uprising 2003 invasion of Iraq Battle of Baghdad Firdos Square statue destruction Human rights record Al-Qaeda link allegations Timeline Nuclear weapon program Operation Opera Desposition Capture Interrogation Trial Execution Reactions Elections and referendums 1995 Iraqi presidential referendum 2002 Iraqi presidential referendum Novels Blood Quran Zabibah and the King The Fortified Castle Men and the City Begone, Demons
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The 1979 Ba'ath Party Purge (Arabic: تطهير حزب البعث), also called the Comrades Massacre^[1][2] (Arabic: مجزرة الرفاق), was a public purge of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party orchestrated on 22 July 1979 by then-president Saddam Hussein^[3] six days after his arrival to the presidency of the Iraqi Republic on 16 July 1979.^[4][1]

Six days after the resignation of President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and Hussein's accession to President of the Iraqi Republic, Regional Secretary of the party, and Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council on July 16, 1979, he organized a Ba'ath conference on July 22 in Al-Khuld Hall in Baghdad to carry out a campaign of arrests and executions that included Ba'athist comrades, who were accused of taking part in a pro-Syrian plot to overthrow Saddam.

The list included most of the comrades who opposed Saddam Hussein's rise to power after Al-Bakr,^[1] and among these was the former president's secretary, Muhyi Abdul-Hussein Mashhadi. Names of people were announced and they were taken outside the hall to be executed. Ba'athist propaganda at the time showed that they were convicted of conspiracy and high treason to the party.^[2] Iraq subsequently cut off diplomatic relations with its fellow Ba'athist regime in Syria, accusing Hafez al-Assad of organizing the plot.^[5]: 92