Alwan, a staunch supporter of UAR President Gamal Abdel Nasser, opposed Syria's secession from the union in 1961, leading two failed coup attempts to overthrow the secessionist government in 1962.

He participated in the Baathist-led 8 March coup that toppled President Nazim al-Qudsi in 1963, but after a Baathist attempt to purge Nasserist officers from the military, Alwan led an insurrection against the new government.

[3] Student officers who attended his class included prominent future military figures, such as President Hafez al-Assad, and generals Ali Aslan and Muhammad Nabhan, all of whom were Alawites.

[4] When Syria and Egypt merged to form the United Arab Republic (UAR) in 1958, Alwan became a high-ranking officer in the army, serving in the position of commander of the Qatana Base, located outside of Damascus.

[4] Tank units officially under his command played an important role during the coup as they headed north towards Damascus to link up with other mutineers from the Dumayr base before taking the capital.

While the unionist coup was planned for 2 April 1962, the Nasserist officers under Alwan's leadership made their move on 31 March, launching the revolt from the army garrison in Homs.

[8] The 1 April proposal was rejected outright by Alwan who proceeded to encourage his independent and Baathist allies in the officer corps to move ahead with the original coup plan.

[15] At this time, Alwan, disappointed that the Military Committee was neither interested in a genuine power-sharing agreement nor having Nasser preside over Syria, initiated plans with the ANM and Egyptian intelligence officers to remove the Baathist government.

[17][16] The Baathist Interior Minister Amin al-Hafiz personally defended the army headquarters and the ensuing battle resulted in hundreds of casualties, including several civilian bystanders.

Alwan refused to testify in the military tribunal, and the court found him guilty of treason and sentenced him to death, along with al-Maarri, Captain Muhammad al-Nabhan and 16 Palestinians, who were also alleged participants in the failed coup.

[13][21] Alwan, al-Maarri, al-Nabhan and the co-accused Palestinian participants were exiled and three days later were escorted to the border with Lebanon, from which they headed to Egypt's embassy in Beirut.

Iraqi funding for the dissident coalition's members in Egypt, like Alwan, ended as a result of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's participation in the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991.