Assadist–Saddamist conflict

Assadist–Saddamist conflict
	Part of the Arab Cold War (until 1990), Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict (until 1990), Iraq–Syria relations, and Shia–Sunni conflict (until 1990)
	; 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 – 8 December 2024 (45 years, 4 months and 16 days)
Location	Arab world (mainly in Iraq and Syria)
Result	Inconclusive Saddamists ousted from power in Iraq in 2003; Assadists ousted from power in Syria in 2024;
Belligerents
Assadists Ba'ath Party (Syrian-dominated faction) Ba'ath Party – Syria Region; Assadists in Iraq Al-Awda (alleged); ; Assadists in other Arab states; ; Ba'athist Syria (until 2024); Syrian Popular Resistance (from 2024); ; Supported by: Iran; Hezbollah; Iraq (from 2004) Popular Mobilization Forces; Badr Organization; ISCI; Iraqi Shia militias; Dawa; ; Kurdistan Region/Peshmerga KDP; PUK; ; Libya (until 1987); North Korea; Soviet Union (until 1991); Russia (from 2000s); PLO (factions); SSNP; DFLP; Houthis; South Yemen (until 1990); ;	Saddamists Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction) Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region; Saddamists in Syria; Saddamists in other Arab states; ; Ba'athist Iraq (until 2003); JRTN (from 2006); ; Supported by: MEK (until 2003); United States (until 1990); United Kingdom (until 1990); West Germany (until 1990); Italy (until 1990); Egypt (until 1990); Saudi Arabia (until 1990); Kuwait (until 1990); Jordan; France; Libya (from 1990s, limited legal support); Soviet Union (until 1991); North Yemen (until 1990); Lebanese Forces; Muslim Brotherhood in Syria; Free Syrian Army; PLO (factions); ;
Commanders and leaders
Hafez al-Assad #; Bashar al-Assad ; Maher al-Assad; Hassan Turkmani †; Assef Shawkat †; Fawzi Mutlaq al-Rawi;	Saddam Hussein ; Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri #; Tariq Aziz (POW); Ali Hassan al-Majid ; Salah Al-Mukhtar; Raghad Hussein;
	The conflict between the Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction), Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region and the Ba'ath Party (Syrian-dominated faction), Ba'ath Party – Syria Region already began in 1966 following the 1966 Syrian coup d'état before even al-Assad became President of Syria and before Hussein became President of Iraq

The Assadist–Saddamist conflict, also known as the Ba'ath Party intraconflict, was a conflict and ideological rivalry between the Assadist Syrian-led Ba'ath Party and its subgroups, loyal to Ba'athist Syria, and the Saddamist Iraqi-led Ba'ath Party and its subgroups, loyal to Ba'athist Iraq. The conflict continued ideologically even after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and subsequent toppling of President Saddam Hussein, and ended after the fall of the Assad regime to a Syrian opposition offensive. Nonetheless, both regimes demonstrate shared traits, including strong militarization of society, autocratic rule, oppression, limitations on freedoms, power monopolization, electoral fraud, and responsibility for extensive suffering in both nations and the wider region.