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," according to Syria expert Patrick Seale[citation needed].

[4] After Munzir al-Shimali, an Ismaili Ba'athist militiaman, was killed and mutilated by rioters, riots intensified and rebels attacked "every vestige" of the Ba'ath Party in Hama.

The opposition to the Ba'ath was wide-ranging, and included merchants, professionals, laborers and craftsmen and brought together poor Sunni Muslims from the countryside, members of the middle class and the traditional political and social elites.

Hafiz felt compelled to resign in favor of a civilian politician, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, who was a member of the Ba'ath Party, but not from the officer corps.

Bitar and other civilian members of the Ba'ath, such as Michel Aflaq, still held little sway over governmental decisions and both resigned from the government, with al-Hafiz re-occupying the prime minister post.

Muhammad Umran, the senior member of the Committee, disapproved of the severity of the assault on Hama and the subsequent bloodshed, while Salah Jadid and Hafez al-Assad strongly supported Hafiz's handling of the riots, viewing it as a necessary means to protect Ba'athist power against "class enemies.