 In 1957–58 Assad rose to a dominant position in the Military Committee, which mitigated his transfer to Egypt.After Syria left the UAR in September 1961, Assad and other Ba'athist officers were removed from the military by the new government in Damascus, and he was given a minor clerical position at the Ministry of Transport.Assad played a minor role in the failed 1962 military coup, for which he was jailed in Lebanon and later repatriated.