He served in the French-created "Troupe Speciale," but deserted his post to join the Syrian rebels in 1945,[2] which led to his arrest and deportation to Lebanon by the French authorities.

He fought as a volunteer in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and was appointed by then-Chief of Staff of the Syrian Army, Husni al-Zaim, to the delegation that negotiated the Syrian-Israeli armistice agreement of 1949.

The tribunal accused many anti-Nasser politicians with receiving illicit funds from anti-Nasser Arab governments including Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, as well as plotting the assassination of Nasserist and Socialist leaders including Abdel Hamid al-Sarraj, Akram al-Hawrani, Khalid Bakdash, and Afif al-Bizri.

[1] The tribunal handed down death sentences to twelve politicians including members of the parliament, Adnan al-Atassi and Mikhail Ilyan.

[1] Bizri led the officer delegation that pleaded with Nasser for a full union between Syria and Egypt in 1958.